business & profressional

'A Giant In Every Way'

The Merton J. Segal Building honors an insurance legend.

Allan Nahajewski
Contributing Writer

I

n 1955, in the basement of his Oak
Park home, Mert Segal started an
insurance company. He was 26, a
newlywed, and the first policy he wrote
was on his new Mercury Montclair con-
vertible.
That company grew to become the
Meadowbrook Insurance Group, now
listed on the New York Stock Exchange,
with more than 1,000 employees in 28
locations throughout the country and
nearly $1 billion in revenues last year.
This month, after 58 years in the busi-
ness, he is retiring as board chairman,
and the company's Southfield head-
quarters is being renamed the Merton J.
Segal Building.
"Far more important than the build-
ing is the inner man:' says Rabbi Daniel
Syme of Temple Beth El in Bloomfield
Hills. "And I have to tell you that there
isn't enough room in the Jewish News to
properly tell his story. He is a giant in
every way.
"He built one of the notable com-
panies of our time. He has served the
interfaith community quietly with-
out fanfare for decades. He is a past
president of Temple Beth El and has
served the Jewish community in many
ways, and he is a tireless contributor to
charities, especially relating to children.
Above all, he is a beautiful soul who has
touched countless people with caring
and love. He is a wonderful father and
grandfather, and he's one of those people
who is a loyal and dedicated friend. If
Mert Segal is your friend, you don't need
any more friends:'
Segal, 84, was born and raised in
Detroit. He attended Central High
School and the University of Michigan.
He then went to Chicago to work for a
manufacturer.
"I came back to Detroit in 1953 look-
ing for a job in manufacturing, but the
automotive market at that time was as
bad as it has ever been," he recalls. "So
I turned to real estate to try to make a
living."
He did well. "That led me into being

40

May 23 • 2013

Mert Segal and his
late wife, Beverly,

seated, with their
daughters Carol
Ziecik, left, Laura
Segal, standing,
and Dana
Weinstein

"I'm always looking forward and not behind.
You should look behind only to learn from
your mistakes."

—

a mortgage broker, which led me to sell-
ing property insurance for the homes
we were selling," he says. "Pretty soon, I
decided to go into insurance full time:'
Asked the secret to his decades of suc-
cess, Segal said, "It's a matter of doing

Mert Sept

the right things for your clients — and
innovating, trying to do things the
industry may not have done as well. We
tried to improve upon traditional insur-
ance companies' practices:'
Among his proudest achievements

include election into the Michigan
Insurance Hall of Fame and being
named Entrepreneur of the Year. "But
I'm most proud of providing a livelihood
for literally thousands of people over 58
years:' he said.
David Page will succeed Segal as
board chairman. "Mert is a classic
American business success story," he
said. "He's built a highly respected com-
pany. He's one of the pioneers, particu-
larly in the captive insurance and spe-
cialty risk portion of the business. But
beyond that, he's just a wonderful guy —
a gentleman through and through. I may
have been one of his first customers,
and I've been with him ever since:'
Bob Cubbin, president and CEO of the
Meadowbrook Insurance Group, said,
"Mert's always been entrepreneurial, a
real gentlemen, true to his word, a men-
tor to younger people and an innovator
in the business. We look forward to
continuing with the things that he set in
motion:'
Segal has three daughters and five
grandchildren. His wife, Beverly, passed
away earlier this year.
He's also known as a major sports fan.
"I think I'm the Detroit Pistons' longest
season ticket holder," he said. "I've had
four seats on the floor at center court for
more than 50 years:'
Reflecting on his career, he said, "I've
enjoyed it immensely. Insurance is not
too well understood. It's not as appreci-
ated as it should be. Very few colleges
teach it. I've been supportive of promot-
ing insurance programs at a couple of
colleges. It's a great profession:'
Segal said his priorities in retire-
ment include philanthropy, promoting
learning in the insurance business and
"getting a little closer to my family and
grandchildren. And I'm playing more
golf and tennis now than I ever could.
"I'm always looking forward and not
behind. You should look behind only
to learn from your mistakes; then you
have to figure out your priorities going
forward.
"Retirement affords people more
time to give back to the community.
I've always tried to do that. I hope to do
more of that now:'

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