Fordham Law School has honored Ernest E. Stempel (LAW ’46), a pioneer in the foreign insurance business and former AIG vice chairman, with its first Lifetime Achievement Award. Stempel was recognized at the inaugural Golden Rams Alumni Luncheon on Nov. 6.
“Ernest Stempel was responsible for revolutionizing the insurance industry in South Asia and beyond,” said William Michael Treanor, dean of Fordham Law School and Paul Fuller Chair of Law. “He truly embodies the Law School’s highest ideals of excellence and service.”
Stempel began working with the organization that became AIG in 1938 and attended Fordham Law School at night. In 1953, Stempel was sent to Bermuda to manage the non-life insurance division of the American International Reinsurance Company (AIRCO). He would go on to became widely known throughout the business world for his innovative role in promoting the concept of life insurance in many Asian nations and for establishing Bermuda as a central player in the insurance industry.
He served for many years as chairman of American International Assurance Company (AIA) in Hong Kong, and of the Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (Philamlife), two key components of AIG’s life insurance operations in Asia. In 1989, Stempel was elected AIG vice chairman. He retired in 1996.
