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Anniversary, I've taken the opportunity to reflect upon the creation and
growth of our company.
We all make decisions everyday; many times those decisions affect our
lives and the lives of those around us, for countless years to come. My father made such a
decision in 1926 by deciding to forsake his future in the family glass business and
venture into insurance. He took an underwriting job with Franklin Surety and three years
later started the Bernard Blumencranz Company. This was the beginning of BWD.
Another turning point for my family and BWD came in 1959. I joined BWD as
a life insurance clerk while I went to law school at night. In 196,1 my father passed away
very suddenly and I had 90 days to exercise my option to purchase his shares in the
company, and in effect, to choose between a career in law or insurance.
As I look back on those decisions, I also find myself reflecting upon the
milestones achieved by BWD. We have been the first to create many new products in our
industry. My father and Joe Klepper originated the first package policy in Commercial
Lines. The concept of taking an association, or group of insureds, and using the inherent
group buying power, led us to pioneer the creation of client-owned offshore mutual
insurance companies in the mid 1970's. As we developed our niche in sports insurance, we
designed and refined Permanent Total Disability and Temporary Total Disability policies,
and programs for the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League. We also
created Master Umbrella Programs and a new niche with our Wealth Managers Insurance
Program.
I am proud to have sustained this business through three generations. It
is very rare for a family business to have survived that long.
All of these achievements would not have been possible without our
heartfelt relationships with our clients and employees. We have remained committed to our
core values of innovation, intellect, and hard work. These values, coupled with a diligent
staff of 130 associates, will continue to bring us success and growth in the new
millenium.
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