William E. Bailey, Radio Host, I.I.I. Special Counsel, Dead At 68

NU Online News Service, Aug. 24, 2:44 p.m. EDT

William E. Bailey--special counsel to the Insurance Information Institute and host of the syndicated talk radio program "It's Your Money!"--died Friday at the age of 68, the I.I.I. announced today.

Mr. Bailey died at the Kaplan House Hospice Residence in Danvers, Mass. The cause was cancer, the I.I.I. said.

Mr. Bailey, a Boston attorney and a former insurance industry executive, was a resident of Chelsea, Mass. He was affiliated with I.I.I. for 23 years.

His program won him the 1998 Golden Torch Award for Communicator of the Year. The show aired live, nationally, every Sunday on the National Radio Network.

"Bill's weekly radio program was a valuable consumer education tool for the industry," said Robert P. Hartwig, president of the I.I.I.

Mr. Bailey--who was president of the National Consumer Education Foundation, a major sponsor of his radio program--served as a consultant specializing in insurance/financial services industry issues and litigation.

In 2001, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, he was appointed co-director of the Disaster Insurance Information Office in New York City.

On Aug. 14, 2004, after Hurricane Charley, he reactivated the Hurricane Insurance Information Center, which he managed in the following two years that saw Hurricanes Frances, Jeanne, Ivan, Rita, Wilma and Katrina hit the United States.

He was originally appointed director of the Hurricane Insurance Information Center, which was based in Miami, in August 1992 following Hurricane Andrew, and held the post for 18 months.

In 1999, Mr. Bailey served as the director of the Tornado Insurance Information Center following the Oklahoma City Tornado.

Before joining the I.I.I. as special counsel in 1986, Mr. Bailey was a senior vice president for Commercial Union Insurance Company in Boston. Early in his career, he was an associate in the law firm of his brother, the prominent trial attorney F. Lee Bailey.

Mr. Bailey was born in Newton, Mass. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps., he served on active duty between 1962 and 1965, and in the Marine Corps reserves through 1968.

Mr. Bailey was a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School and Union Graduate School and University, where he earned a Ph.D. in business administration. He also held the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.

"All of us will greatly miss Bill's multitude of talents, perceptive intelligence, life-long dedication to learning, quick wit and boundless enthusiasm," said Mr. Hartwig, who noted that Mr. Bailey had worked at the scene of every major disaster since Hurricane Andrew--including Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"In recent years, he continued to establish significant relationships between the insurance industry and the emergency management community," Mr. Hartwig said.

Mr. Bailey was a member of the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel, and the Defense Research Institute.

He was past president and chair of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, a member of the board of directors of the Norman Vincent Peale Foundation, as well as president of the National Consumer Education Foundation.

He is survived by his wife, Irene M. (Rene) Bailey, a sister, Nancy C. Bailey ,and brother F. Lee Bailey.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 11 a.m. at Trinity Church, 730 Main Street in Waltham, Mass.

In lieu of flowers, the family requested a donation be made to the Scholarship Fund at Belmont Hill School, 350 Prospect Street, Belmont, Mass. 02478-2662, in memory of Bill Bailey, Class of 1958.