1976: 100 Years of Mund & Fester- A Look Back

In 1976 the firm of Mund & Fester celebrates its Centennial under the leadership of Michael Berndt. The entire staff looks back, with no small measure of pride, at the long years of activity as one of Hamburg’s leading underwriting agencies.

It was in 1677 that the profession of “insurance underwriters”, (Assekuradeure) working in cooperation with each other, is first mentioned by Hamburg’s Senate.

The “Association of Hamburg’s Insurers”, which created unified standards and assessment criteria, was founded in 1797. The regulations for risk assessment (for example, that not just anyone can pilot a ship through the world’s oceans) have, together with the almost unimaginable transformation of Hamburg as a port city, informed and shaped the nature of maritime transport in a sustained fashion.  

Jules Fester’s legacy has stood the test of time through two world wars and difficult periods of trade restriction.