Emanuel Levy 1918-2013

EMANUEL LEVY, Editor of the INSURANCE ADVOCATE, and vice president and treasurer of The Roberts Publishing Corp. passed away in Ann Arbor, Michigan on August 18, 2013. He was born in the Bronx, N.Y. on April 11, 1918 and was educated in the public schools of New York City. He was graduated from Brooklyn College in February 1941 with a B.A and did graduate work in journalism at Columbia University and New York University. During World War II, he served both in the Pacific and European Theatres of Operations as a Signal Center Chief.

After several years as an associate editor he was named managing editor of the Insurance Advocate and remained in that post until 1958 when he was named editor on the death of Charles S. Rosenzweig. Mr. Levy was honored by brokers’ associations for his service to the insurance industry. Known throughout the country by virtue of his work with the magazine, he has addressed various producers’ associations. Before joining the Insurance Advocate in 1946, he was associated with the New York City Transit System.

Mr. Levy received better than 50 awards from industry association’s for his service throughout his insurance career. He was the recipient of the 1960 Annual Award of the Brooklyn Insurance Brokers Association, New York, for outstanding service to the insurance business. He received the Public Service Award for outstanding contributions to public understanding of the function of Insurance in the American Economy – National Association of Independent Insurers – October 1963; a Citation for Editorial Excellence by New York 65 Health Insurance Association in 1966; as well as, the Annual Achievement Award – Independent Insurance Brokers Association of Brooklyn in 1963. Mr. Levy was also the first inductee in the Insurance Media Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement (2007).

He leaves two sons, Warren and Alan and their families.

Remembering Manny Levy… Insurance Advocate Editor from 1946-2002

Back in 1986, the Insurance Advocate was having the customary ups and downs that beset all publications. The editor in chief, Emanuel Levy, whose classical insistence upon the separation of editorial from advertising and his stalwart insistence upon editorial integrity, spent most of his time on a first class written product and a lot less time on advertising. It was then, on the escalator of the World Trade Center, that Howard Lasher, former Assembly Insurance Committee leader, introduced me to Emanuel Levy formally. Until then, I had only known him as a voice on the other end of the telephone when we wished to try to place a press release or a story. I say “try” because it always involved a little salesmanship to Manny, a journalist in the old fashion style.

Walking up Vesey Street, we began to talk about the Insurance Advocate, about our ambitions in publishing and about the possibility of working together. Manny had extensive experience in journalism, which his bio on the opposite page describes and I had some experience, as a writer and publisher. The result was a meeting at Martin Cowan’s house in Valley Stream, whereupon Mr. Levy agreed to sell the Insurance Advocate to CINN—with some very strict provisions, notably that editorial control would remain his for a period of at least five years, whereupon he would retire. I am proud to say that Manny stayed with the publication until its short-lived sale in 2002. 16 years, not 5. As the dean of insurance editors, an icon, so called by many in the business, Manny’s integrity, his warmth, his accuracy, his unwavering care for the industry itself as an exemplar of fidelity and good faith, and his personal affection for the agent and broker, the very front lines of service in the business, made him one of the greats in our industry. For this writer, he was an unparalleled teacher whom I shall never forget.

When we received news of his passing from his son Warren, I began a search of our archives only to find out just how modest a man he was. I could find only three type written pages on those inexpensive yellow sheets he used to use for editorial, giving a summary of his bio. Actually, his bio is best presented, somehow, by reproducing of the thousands of pages of editorial between 1946 to his final signoff in 2002. In short, Emanuel Levy edited a weekly, first under Charles Rosenzweig, the editor until 1958, and, then on his own through 2002. During that time, at fifty issues per year the numbers are staggering, the productivity, incredible and the service worthy of the industry’s deep gratitude.

He was a fixture on John and William Streets and, even though we moved eventually to Mount Vernon later, he still found time to be in touch with everyone with whom he needed to be in touch at all times. His writing was elegant, crystal clear and meticulously unbiased, except in favor of the insurance industry’s image and its “good faith” premise.

Manny was pintsized, as he would readily admit, but stood taller than most of the men around him, whose pay, whose responsibilities, and whose buildings were stratospheric in appearance, and who were well served by the balanced, hard-toimpress thinking of this great editor. Manny Levy, who had so many friends in the business, was a giant and will remain so in our memories.

As a tribute to him, we present two or three of the photographs he kept in a file marked M. Levy in our archives. He especially cherished, I am sure, the photograph of his receiving the Brokers’ award in 1960 (pictured above), given his great loyalty and, yes, his particular advocacy of the independent agent and broker. We will miss Manny Levy. May God hold him close. SA