The Insurance Hall of Fame, occasionally referred to as the International Insurance Hall of Fame, honors exceptional members of the

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

field. It was created in 1957 and is administered by the global nonprofit International Insurance Society (IIS), which was founded in 1965 and is based in New York City. The Insurance Hall of Fame's museum and portrait gallery at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

houses a collection of portraits and memorabilia of the laureates. A multimedia collection of laureate portraits, videos, and biographies are also housed in a gallery at St. John's University in New York City. To qualify for inclusion in the Insurance Hall of Fame, nominees must be adjudged to have made a lasting contribution to the insurance industry. They also may have shown creative thinking and imaginative actions – starting trends, discovering new products or methods, or uncovering and resolving problems. Each year a selection of candidates deemed to fulfill the Insurance Hall of Fame awards criteria is nominated by the Honors Nominating Committee of the International Insurance Society and selected by the IIS Executive Council. The International Insurance Society may also elect an individual posthumously.

History

The Insurance Hall of Fame was conceived and organized in 1957 by John S. Bickley, who was then professor of insurance at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. It was sponsored by the Griffith Foundation for Insurance Education, which had its headquarters on the OSU campus. The Griffith Foundation for Insurance Education is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1947 at Ohio State University in memory of a young

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

insurance agent, Charles W. Griffith, who was killed in World War II; the foundation was affiliated with OSU until 1992. Bickley, who continued to spearhead the Insurance Hall of Fame as its Chairman, later moved to the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, and then to the

, where he had started his academic career. In 1965 the Insurance Hall of Fame became international, appointing electors from 32 countries and voting on candidates from anywhere in the world. That year Bickley founded the International Insurance Society (IIS), based in New York City, as a forum where people involved in insurance could share their ideas and interests. The IIS encourages networking, academic pursuits, and education; it sponsors annual meetings, and funds research projects and awards. A committee of insurance industry leaders at IIS annually elects the inductees to the Insurance Hall of Fame – those who have made notable contributions to the insurance industry worldwide. As of 2019 the IIS includes electors from over 90 countries. In 1987 the Insurance Hall of Fame's museum and portrait gallery moved to the University of Alabama, where Bickley taught. Space at the New York City-based International Insurance Society is too limited to display any but the current year's inductees. By 2010 the museum in Alabama had drawn over 250,000 visitors. The facility includes a portrait gallery of inductees through the years, a museum of insurance, and a lecture hall. In 2003 an additional gallery was opened at St. John's University in New York City, which hosts a multimedia collection of laureate portraits, videos, and biographies. In 2004 the Insurance Hall of Fame launched its website, with lists and profiles of all inductees since its inception. Nominees for the Insurance Hall of Fame are submitted by the IIS membership and evaluated for selection by the IIS Honors Committee, a body of senior insurance executives and academics. The nominees are then voted on by the IIS membership by secret ballot, which is tabulated and conducted by an independent auditing firm.

Insurance Hall of Fame laureates

Data is fro
Insurance Hall of Fame Laureates by Year of Induction

1950s

1957

Elizur Wright Elizur Wright III (12 February 1804 – 22 November 1885) was an American mathematician and abolitionist. He is sometimes described in the United States as "the father of life insurance", or "the father of insurance regulation", as he campaigned ...

- USA *

Solomon S. Huebner Solomon Stephen Huebner (March 6, 1882, Manitowoc, Wisconsin – July 17, 1964, Merion, Pennsylvania) was Emeritus Professor of Insurance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Emeritus President of The American College of Life ...

- USA *

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

- USA

1958

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...

- USA *Ralph H. Blanchard - USA

1959

Frederick H. Ecker Frederick Hudson Ecker (August 30, 1867 – March 20, 1964) was an Insurance executive, and president of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. He won the 1947 Gold Medal Award from The Hundred Year Association of New York. Life He was born in ...

- USA *Albert F. Dean - USA

1960s

1960

*M. Albert Linton - USA *John A. Diemand, Sr. - USA

1961

*Clarence Arthur Kulp - USA *

Louis I. Dublin Louis Israel Dublin (November 1, 1882 – March 7, 1969) was a Jewish American statistician. As vice president and statistician of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, he promoted progressive and socially useful insurance underwriting policies ...

- USA

1962

*John Marshall Holcombe, Jr. - USA *

Alfred M. Best Alfred Magilton Best (August 31, 1876 – May 6, 1958) was an American insurance industry executive who founded the firm now known as A. M. Best to evaluate the financial stability of insurance companies, their ability to pay claims, as well as th ...

- USA

1963

Julian S. Myrick Julian Southall Myrick (March 1, 1880 – January 4, 1969) was an insurance salesman and promoter of tennis from the United States. Myrick was born in Murfreesboro, North Carolina on March 1, 1880. In 1898, Myrick entered the insurance business ...

- USA * Sheppard Homans - USA

1964

*William Leslie, Sr. - USA

1965

*Ernst Froelich - Switzerland *

Haley Fiske Haley Fiske (March 18, 1852 – March 4, 1929) was an American lawyer who served as President of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Early life Fiske was born on March 18, 1852, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was a son of William Henry Fisk ...

- USA * James Dodson - United Kingdom *Johan DeWitt - Netherlands *

James G. Batterson James Goodwin Batterson (February 23, 1823 – September 18, 1901) was an American designer and builder, the owner of New England Granite Works from 1845 and a founder in 1863 of Travelers Insurance Company, both in Hartford, Connecticut. He ...

- USA *

Nicholas Barbon Nicholas Barbon ( 1640 – 1698) was an English economist, physician, and financial speculator. Historians of mercantilism consider him to be one of the first proponents of the free market. In the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, he b ...

- United Kingdom

1966

*Alfred Manes - Germany *Holgar J. Johnson - USA *

Cuthbert Eden Heath Cuthbert Eden Heath OBE, DL (23 March 1859 – 8 March 1939) was a British insurance businessman, underwriter, broker, and syndicate owner at Lloyd's of London from 1880 until 1939. A relentless innovator and novel risk-taker, he has been call ...

- United Kingdom

1967

*William David Winter - USA *Georges Tattevin - France *

Edmond Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, H ...

- United Kingdom *Alfred N. Guertin - USA *Leighton Foster - Canada

1968

*Arthur Hunter - USA *

Joseph Arnould Sir Joseph Arnould (12 November 1813 – 16 February 1886) was a writer and British judge in India. Life Born at Camberwell, he was the only son of Dr. Joseph Arnould and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Baily. He was the great uncle of th ...

- India *

Zachariah Allen Zachariah Allen (September 15, 1795 – March 17, 1882) was an American textile manufacturer, scientist, lawyer, writer, inventor and civil leader from Providence, Rhode Island. He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and at Brown Universit ...

- USA

1969

*Charles J. Zimmerman - USA *Harry J. Loman - USA *Max E. Eisenring - Switzerland

1970s

1970

*Tsuneta Yano - Japan * James Scott Kemper, Sr. - USA *

Kenkichi Kagami was a Japanese businessman. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Kagami Kenkichi"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 446. Career He graduated from Hitotsubashi University (then ''Koto Shogyo Gakko''). Kagami was a leader in Japan's maritime insurance b ...

- Japan *Hendon Chubb - USA *

John Julius Angerstein John Julius Angerstein (1735 – 22 January 1823) was a London businessman and Lloyd's underwriter, a patron of the fine arts and a collector. It was the prospect that his collection of paintings was about to be sold by his estate in 1824 ...

- United Kingdom

1971

John F. Dryden John Fairfield Dryden (August 7, 1839 – November 24, 1911) was the founder of the Prudential Insurance Company and a United States senator from New Jersey. He was known as the "father of industrial insurance". Early life Dryden was born ...

- USA * Paul F. Clark - USA * Alios Alzheimer - Germany

1972

*David McCahan - USA *Walter Arnold Dinsdale - United Kingdom

1973

*Maurice Picard - France *

Albert Henry Mowbray Albert Henry Mowbray (30 March 1881 – 7 January 1949) was an American economist. He was born in San Francisco on 30 March 1881 and attended the University of California. Upon earning his degree in 1904, Mowbray worked for New York Life Insuranc ...

- USA

1974

Richard Price Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer, pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the French ...

- United Kingdom *Cecil Edward Golding - United Kingdom * Harald Cramer - Sweden *Eugenio Artom - Italy

1975

* Cornelius V. Starr - USA * Murray D. Lincoln - USA *J. Roger Hull - USA *Jacques Basyn - Belgium

1976

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

- Germany *Edwin W. Patterson - USA * Gen Hirose - Japan

1978

*Taizo Abe - Japan

1979

* Herbert W. Heinrich - USA *Henry S. Beers - USA

1980s

1980

*Joseph B. Maclean - USA *Andre Besson - France

1981

*Antigono Donati - Italy

1982

*Haruo Murase - Japan

1983

Ikunoshin Kadono was a Japanese samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great f ...

- Japan

1984

*B. K. Shah - India *

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, ...

- USA

1985

*S. Bruce Black - USA

1986

*Robert E. Dineen - USA *

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

- France

1987

*Victor Dover - United Kingdom *Jorge Bande - Chile

1988

Alex Möller Alexander Johann Heinrich Friedrich Möller (26 April 1903 – 2 October 1985) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD). Möller was born in Dortmund. He was a member of the Landtag of Bad ...

- Germany *John S. Bickley - USA *Robert A. Beck - USA

1989

*Edwin S. Overman - USA *

Maurice R. Greenberg Maurice Raymond “Hank” Greenberg (born May 4, 1925) is an American business executive and former chairman and chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG). Early life Greenberg was born into a Jewish family in Greenwich Vil ...

- USA

1990s

1990

*Douglas A. Barlow - Canada

1991

*Alfred H. Pollard - Australia *Horst K. Jannott - Germany

1992

*John E. Fisher - USA

1993

*C. Arthur Williams - USA *Kenneth Black - USA

1994

*Davis W. Gregg - USA

1995

*Ronald M. Hubbs - USA *Willem de Wit - Netherlands

1996

*Yong Ho Shin - South Korea *

Robert F. McDermott Brigadier General Robert Francis McDermott (July 31, 1920 – August 28, 2006) was the first permanent Dean of the Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy, and later served as Chairman and CEO of USAA. He is often referred to as the "Father ...

- USA

1997

Alfonso Yuchengco Alfonso Yuchengco (; February 6, 1923 – April 15, 2017) was a Filipino accountant, industrialist, businessman, educator, and diplomat. He headed the Yuchengco Group of Companies, one of the largest family-owned business conglomerates in the ...

- Philippines *Saburo Kawai - Japan

1998

* Thomas Bassett Macaulay - Canada *José Maria De Delas Y Miralles - Spain *Hans Bühlmann - Switzerland

1999

* George J. Mecherle - USA * Edwin A. G. Manton - USA *

Claude Bébéar Claude Bébéar (born 1935) is a French businessman. He is the former CEO of AXA. Biography Early life Claude Bébéar was born on 29 July 1935 in Issac, France. He graduated from the Lycée Saint-Louis and the École Polytechnique. He was tra ...

- France

2000s

2000

* Jose Pinera - Chile * Hans Gerling - Germany

2001

*Josei Itoh - Japan * Leo Goodwin, Sr. - USA *James C. H. Anderson - USA

2002

*Lutgart Van den Berghe - Belgium *

Aad Jacobs Adrianus G. Jacobs (born 1936) is a Dutch businessman, the former chairman of Royal Dutch Shell from 2004 to 2006, and of ING Group from 1992 to 1998. Jacobs has been a director of numerous companies. In 2002, Jacobs was inducted into the Insuranc ...

- Netherlands *Edison L. Bowers - USA

2003

*Edmund Tse - Hong Kong *Clemente Cabello P. - Mexico

2004

* Kees J. Storm - Netherlands *Takeo Inokuchi - Japan *Per M. Hansson - Norway

2005

* William Meredith - Canada *

Walter Kielholz Walter Bruno Kielholz (born 25 February 1951 in Zurich) was chairman of the Board of Directors and former CEO of Swiss Re. Kielholz completed a degree in business administration at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, in 1976. From 1997 to ...

- Switzerland * Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi - Spain

2006

*Siegfried Sellitsch - Austria *Orio Giarini - Italy

2007

* Frederic Reiss - Bermuda *José Manuel Martínez - Spain * Robert Clements - USA

2008

* Patrick G. Ryan - USA *Professor G. S. Diwan - India *

Dominic D'Alessandro Dominic D'Alessandro, OC (born January 18, 1947) is a Canadian business executive. From January 1994, to May 2009, D'Alessandro was the president and CEO of Manulife Financial, a major insurance company and financial services provider. In Ma ...

- Canada

2009

*Sir David Rowland - United Kingdom *Jack Byrne - USA

2010s

2010

*Frank O'Halloran - Australia *William C. Greenough - USA

2011

Brian Duperreault Brian Charles Duperreault (born May 8, 1947) is a Bermuda-born American executive in the insurance industry. He is executive chairman and former CEO of American International Group. Duperreault's entire career has been in the insurance industry ...

- USA * Guy Carpenter - USA

2012

*Ikuo Uno - Japan *Manuel Povoas - Brazil

2013

Robert Benmosche Robert Herman Benmosche ( , May 29, 1944 – February 27, 2015) was the president and chief executive officer of American International Group (NYSEAIG. He was appointed President & Chief Executive Officer by the US Department of Treasury and AI ...

- USA

2014

*Robert Kiln - United Kingdom *

Denis Kessler Denis Kessler (born 25 March 1952) is a French businessman. He has served as the chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of SCOR SE since 2002. Prior to this, he served as Vice-Chairman of MEDEF and CEO of AXA. Biograph ...

- France

2015

*Stephen Catlin - United Kingdom

2016

*Donald Kramer - USA

2017

*Nikolaus von Bomhard - Germany

2018

*Shuzo Sumi - Japan

2019

*Michael A. Butt - Bermuda

2020

*Larry Zimpleman - USA

2021

*Greig Woodring - USA

References

External links

Official websiteInsurance Hall of Fame
at Vimeo {{University of Alabama * Halls of fame in Alabama University of Alabama 1957 establishments in Ohio 1965 establishments in New York City 1987 establishments in Alabama History of insurance Businesspeople halls of fame Awards established in 1957