The insurance industry lost a number of familiar faces in 2003. Some were company presidents and CEOs; some may not have been as well known but were still instrumental in shaping the industry and its future. Insurance Journal takes a moment to look back on these individuals and their roles.
Laurence A. Tisch, 80, co-chairman and co-founder of Loews Corporation—the parent company of CNA Financial Corp.—died Nov. 15 in New York. Tisch succumbed to cancer.
He and his brother Preston R. “Bob” Tisch started with one hotel in 1946 and built a corporate empire that includes CNA, Loews Hotels, Lorillard Inc., Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., Bulova Corp. and Texas Gas Transmission, an interstate natural gas pipeline company.
Tisch served as Loews CEO for over 26 years, retiring in 1998, but remained co-chairman of the board of directors. His son, James S. Tisch, is its current president and CEO.
Bruce Milligan, 47, president and CEO of Republic Group died Aug. 30. Milligan was a member of an investor group that recently acquired the company from Winterthur and re-established it as an independent enterprise, with Milligan continuing in his role as Republic’s president and CEO.
Bruce Schnitzer, chairman of Wand Partners, served as Republic’s CEO during the transitional period after Milligan’s death. He commented: “Bruce’s goal to make Republic a strong and independent regional insurance company was one we fully shared, and was the foundation for the investors’ decision to acquire Republic and own it under Bruce’s capable leadership. We fully intend to honor Bruce’s memory by continuing to operate the company according to the high personal and professional standards he set as the company’s chief executive over the past eight years.”
Bob A. Borisoff, 75, past president, CEO and one of the founders of Calif.-based Speare & Company Insurance Brokers, died Aug. 6.
A native Californian, Borisoff had an extensive background in insurance, bonds and facultative reinsurance. He was a member of the board of directors of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers Association of Los Angeles and served on several Producer Advisory Councils including the prestigious AIG’s President’s Council. In addition to being awarded the Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) by the Professional Insurers Association, he also earned the coveted Certified Insurance Consultant (CIC) designation.
Sax Riley, 63, immediate past chairman of Lloyd’s, collapsed and died July 25 while playing golf in Surrey, England.
Riley retired from Lloyd’s last year under amicable circumstances, clearing the way for Lord Peter Levene to take over the chairmanship duties. Riley was CEO of the London-based brokerage Sedgwick PLC before moving to Lloyd’s.
Riley is credited with bringing about a series of modernization reforms at Lloyd’s, including changing its franchise board. Riley was also admired for his handling of the grave blow dealt to the insurance industry by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Alan Tebb, 74, former general manager of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI), died March 31.
Tebb began his 40-year career as branch manager of the Western Insurance Information Service in Portland, Ore., and later became executive secretary of the Oregon Insurance Agents’ Association. While in Oregon, he was active in the campaign that modernized the state’s workers’ comp law and served on the commission that codified the state insurance code, and in 1965 he was awarded the Eppstein Award as “Man of the Year.” Prior to being named CWCI’s first full-time manager in 1969, he was president of Compensation Advisors Inc., a Seattle-based industrial relations firm.
During his 24-year tenure at CWCI, Tebb established himself as a recognized authority on California workers’ comp, providing effective leadership and an articulate voice in a complex field.
Following his retirement from CWCI in 1994, he continued to put his wealth of workers’ comp knowledge and experience to good use as a consultant to several insurers and as special California workers’ compensation counsel for the American Insurance Association.
Robert A. Stahl died Feb. 23 in Portland, Ore., after a number of decades in insurance. Born in 1918, Stahl’s career began in 1946 with Northwestern Mutual Casualty and he opened the West Coast office of the Northern Insurance Company of New York in 1954. He was a special state agent and branch manager for Northern until they were purchased by The Maryland and later American General in the early 1960s.
He left The Maryland/American General and became branch manager for Cravens-Dargan in the late ’60s and then helped form I-West Insurance Managers in 1969. He was president and CEO of I-West Insurance Managers until the entity was sold in 1982 to the St. Paul.
After retiring from I-West, he was instrumental in guiding the lawyer’s malpractice program as a member of their Board of Directors for 10 years. He also assisted in the formation of the Northwest Physicians Mutual after leaving I-West. He was still serving on the board of directors of Independent Insurance Wholesalers at the time of his death.
Carol Ann Middleton Hammes, 54, died Feb. 22 in Littleton, Colo. Hammes was the founder of the Middleton Group Inc., an insurance consulting firm with offices in Colorado and Illinois.
Hammes, editor of The Middleton Letter, was often quoted in major insurance industry publications and was the main contributor for PRO 83, Agency Operations and Sales Manage-ment. She was a well-respected consultant who spoke to agents across the country. Her newsletter gave advice to clients and subscribers of all size agencies and insurance companies across the country.
She started her career at Hales & Associates prior to founding The Middleton Group in 1984.
“Carol was very dedicated to our industry and helped so many independent agents,” said Catherine Oak, president of Calif. -based Oak & Associates. “No matter how small the agency, she would always take the time to listen to them and give advice, often without even sending them a bill for their time. Agents will always remember her contributions, her tenacity and spunk, both on and off the stage. There is definitely a void now that Carol is gone.”
Topics California Agencies Workers' Compensation Market Lloyd's
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