Last week, Harvey Wolfman, the President of the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters, passed away. Many FAPIA members, family, friends and colleagues came together to say goodbye to Harvey at his service on Tuesday.
Long before Harvey was leading the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters, he was involved with insurance, first as a contractor doing repairs on insurance losses and later, as an independent insurance adjuster in South Florida. But more than a decade ago, Harvey was persuaded to become a public adjuster. His friend and soon to be business partner, Carlos Martinez, convinced Harvey to represent policyholders in insurance claims. The duo developed BCH Group and built a team of adjusters to help policyholders in Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Maryland, Delaware, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, D.C. and Georgia.
Recently, Harvey authored an article on hurricane preparedness for the Tallahassee Democrat, and he was interviewed by Property & Casualty 360 about the Florida Supreme Court decision on the 48 hour restriction.
Besides running the business with Carlos, Harvey felt it is very important to be a member of public adjuster associations. Harvey was a member of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters and served on the FAPIA board of directors for 7 years before becoming President in May.
Before Harvey was FAPIA president, he had the unofficial job of keeping everyone in their seats and quiet during the meetings. It was a big job, but if you had the pleasure of knowing Harvey, you knew he could do the job. Carlos describes Harvey as having a rough exterior but only the best intentions. He worked to help policyholders, and he took many projects without charging a fee. Richard Schwartz, a colleague who worked with Harvey at BCH, remembers many times when Harvey stopped his car and offered to help someone in need. “He did not care if you were family or friend, if they needed help and he could find a way, Harvey would help. Gruff and tough on the outside and soft and cuddly on the inside.”
Harvey enjoyed his weekly poker game and took up body building as a way combat health problems. Harvey competed into his fifties. He loved watching WWE wrestling, but recorded matches to catch a Mets game. Harvey is survived by his son, Howard, and loving companion, Robyn Roach.
The industry has lost a man of honor and integrity, but we can celebrate his life and his work and remember his enthusiasm and caring nature.
George Keys, who will take the post for FAPIA, put it best: "Harvey was truly a champion for FAPIA and the public adjusting industry, and his leadership and input will be greatly missed. We will continue his good work and policy goals he helped set for the year ahead."
