At age 80, Shel Bachrach died on Monday, July 8, in Palm Springs, as announced by a publicist. Bachrach was one of the top insurance brokers in Hollywood, helping launch movies like Cliffhanger, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and Ali.
He provided financial protection and mitigated risks associated with potential problems such as drug-related filming delays, actors who pilot aircraft, and directors potentially facing issues due to age, as well as medical issues. Bachrach was a force behind the scenes, helping big-time names like Courtney Love, Harrison Ford, David Lean, and John Huston, among others.
In addition to movies, Bachrach also wrote policies for Las Vegas magicians and performers, as well as game shows like The Price Is Right. One way viewers may have felt his impact is his risk management on stunt-filled films since these could get halted due to injuries to actors during production.
Sheldon Jay Bachrach was born in Detroit on April 7, 1944. He wrote his first entertainment insurance policy in 1983 and developed a reputation for “insuring the supposedly uninsurable.”
In 1990, Bachrach wrote a life and disability policy valued at more than $140 million. This earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest life and disability policy ever written at the time.
Bachrach provided insurance services to a handful of films, including Cliffhanger (1993), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Ali (2001), Medicine Man (1992), Color of Night (1994), Cutthroat Island (1995), Evita (1996) and The Shadow Conspiracy (1997).
Bachrach was also the president of entertainment and high net worth divisions for USI Holdings (acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2007) and president of Beverly Hills-based Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services before he launched Bachrach & Associates in 1990.
In 2014, Bachrach & Associates merged with the Insurance Office of America.
Bachrach's family is represented on the board of governors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. They have been members of the Amie Karen Cancer Fund for Children for over 20 years and the Assistance League for more than a decade.
Any thoughts about this story? Leave a comment below.
