Donald W. Grant served as the chair of the board of directors for the Surplus Line Association of California, was involved in the wholesale brokerage community and founded a managing general agency.
Grant died on May 24.
Former SLA board chair Ian Fitt, who worked with Grant, recalled for the SLA newsletter that Grant was educated in England and served in World War II with the British Merchant Navy from 1941 to 1946. He received his insurance training at Lloyd’s of London and Commercial Union in England and later moved to Canada where he was associated with two brokerage and reinsurance firms.
“Don was a gracious man, a courageous and determined leader and a true industry icon,” Fitt wrote in a remembrance of his friend. “He will be truly missed.”
Grant moved to Los Angeles in 1964, where he joined M.B. Buettner & Co. In 1971, he founded Western Re Managers Insurance Services, a managing general agency specializing in California commercial earthquake insurance.
He served as SLA chair (then called the Executive Committee) in 1988, and as a member of several SLA committees. He also was a former governing delegate of the California FAIR Plan and a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of Canada.
Grant retired as chair of Western Re Brokers and Western Re Managers in 2010 and continued to travel with his wife Gigi.
Grant dies on May 24, and leaves behind two sons (Gary and John) and a daughter (Donna).
Topics California Excess Surplus Leadership
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