DeWitt Stern Group

DeWitt Stern Group, Inc.

Type	Private
Industry	Insurance broking; insurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting
Founded	1899
Headquarters	New York City
Key people	Jolyon Stern, President & CEO, Charles Johnson Jr., Chief Operating Officer, David Flecker, Executive Vice President, Kevin Walker, Chief Financial Officer, Steven Pincus, Managing Director, LeConte Moore, Managing Director
Products	Insurance, Risk management, Employee Benefits
Number of employees	180 (2008)
Website	www.dewittstern.com

The DeWitt Stern Group, Inc. is a privately held, New York City-based insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm. National in scope, the firm also has offices in North White Plains NY, Jersey City NJ, Chicago IL, and in two California locations: San Francisco and Glendale.

Founded in 1899 by DeWitt H. Stern, the firm is led by the founder’s grandson, Jolyon F. Stern, who represents the third generation of family ownership. The firm was ranked by Business Insurance as 62d among the top 100 insurance brokers in 2008.^[1] Risk & Insurance, another insurance industry trade publication, designated four of the firm's Fine Art and Entertainment-Media specialists as Power Brokers in 2007 and 2008.^[2]

Notable clients

DeWitt Stern offers risk management solutions to clients ranging from international corporations, banks, law firms, and classical artists to individuals in finance, government, law, accounting, entertainment, media, and art. The firm's individual clients have included: Antoinette Perry (namesake of the Tony Awards), violinist Isaac Stern, Albert Einstein, and the prominent actors Bette Davis, Jose Ferrer, and Yul Brynner.

Risk solutions

Examples of risk solutions include formulating cost-sensitive programs for real estate companies and providing broad insurance coverage for fine art and volatile overseas film projects. These risks can be complex and particularly hard-to-place. In fact, “the firm’s entertainment practice—its flagship—provides insurance brokerage and risk management services to some of the largest, most well-known businesses in the theatrical, film, television and music industries,” according to an article published in Rough Notes, an insurance industry publication.^[3]

Areas of experience

Entertainment, Film, & Media

Commercial Risk

Employee Benefits

Personal Risk Management and Family Offices

Fine Arts

Professional Corporations and Partnerships

Restaurants and Hospitality

Rental Houses

Marine and Aviation

Company milestones

1899—DeWitt H. Stern Co., Inc. is founded with offices at 66 Pine Street in New York City.
1904–1905—The firm is appointed agents for Fireman's Fund and Chubb & Son and has maintained these relationships ever since.
1921—DeWitt Stern takes the claims report for an "injured" Cadillac that required replacement of a mud-guard for $56.
1932—DeWitt A. Stern enters the family business a day after graduating from Princeton University.
1956—The firm pioneers insurance on collectibles especially coins
1960s to Present—DeWitt insures theatrical companies and the arts, placing insurance for Hair, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Amadeus, and Rent, among others.
1974—The firm celebrates its 75th year by electing DeWitt A. Stern as chairman and Jolyon F. Stern as president.
1980s to Present—DeWitt Stern begins insuring musical events for the Backstreet Boys, Chicago, The Rolling Stones, and Simon & Garfunkel.
1990s to Present—The firm insures Fine Arts risks including private collections and public institutions like The Museum of the City of New York and The Noguchi Museum, located in the borough of Queens.
1991—DeWitt Stern opens an office in Los Angeles, California.
1994—DeWitt Stern opens an office in Jersey City, New Jersey, where its marine insurance practice resides.
2004 to Present—Continuing its expansion, today the firm has over 180 employees.

References

↑ http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgi-bin/page.pl?pageId=1103
↑ http://www.riskandinsurance.com/brokerland.jsp
↑ http://www.roughnotes.com/rnmagazine/09cdindex04.htm Phil Kewicz, Sept. 2004, "Glamorous Niches, Traditional Principles of Service", The Rough Notes Company, Inc.