Ernesta G. Procope: America's insurance maven: building the largest black-owned insurance brokerage, this first lady staked her claim on Wall Street.

It was the mid 1960s and race riots were erupting all over the nation, leaving many urban neighborhoods in ruins. Reluctant insurance companies were canceling property insurance coverage in affected black communities. Ernesta G. Procope, president and chief executive officer of a fledgling insurance brokerage firm, feared for her clients. She worried that the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York, where her storefront company was located, was about to boil over and consume everything she and her clients had worked so hard to build.

At the time, Procope's firm, E.G. Bowman Co., was starting to offer property and casualty insurance--areas most black-owned insurance brokers had not yet mastered. Procope, who opened her firm in 1953, saw the need to provide property insurance to the largely African American communities that were being denied coverage, and she had impressed upon her neighbors and clients the link between the commercial value of property and building wealth. Since the beginning, her entrepreneurial spirit and loyalty to underserved communities have fueled the firm's growth and solidified her status as one of the most innovative brokers in the insurance business.

But back in the 1960s, the negative impact of the riots threatened to derail Procope's aspirations. Her fears were realized when insurers cancelled 90 of the firm's property insurance coverage policies in one day. Nevertheless, Procope continued to fight for her clients. Using her leverage in business and politics, Procope spearheaded the creation of the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan in 1968. She appealed to New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller to do his own investigation, which led to the passage of the legislation that prevented "redlining" and made insurance available to all New York homeowners. The plan was eventually modified for adoption in 26 other states.

In the years following the riots, Procope instituted a variety of creative measures to wrangle Fortune 500 companies away from bigger, older insurance firms. E.G. Bowman went from providing $25 auto and home premiums to insuring community programs, schools, nonprofits, and churches. At the start of the '70s, Procope was successful at wooing PepsiCo, the firm's first major commercial account, securing her place in the commercial insurance arena. With her impressive portfolio of clients, she became the first female CEO to appear on the BE 100s in 1973.

Despite all of her hard work, the insurance maven couldn't persuade potential commercial clients to brave a visit to her Brooklyn storefront. So in 1979, Procope made history by becoming the first African American to own a major business on Wall &met, the bastion of American finance. Hailed as the "First Lady of Wall Street," Procope guided E.G. Bowman to earn $40 million in premiums in 2004 and lure big-name clients such as IBM, Time Warner, General Motors, and Philip Morris.

Procope believes that her network of dedicated employees helps clients feel like they are a top priority. Over the years, she hired, trained, and ushered in a new crop of black professionals who will carry on the company well into the future. "Now we have seasoned people who have been with us for over 30 years," says Procope. "We believe in building tenure."

Procope has already accomplished that, and she has managed to do it by marrying financial prowess with the value of owning and protecting property.

35 BLACK YEARS ENTERPRISE

As part of our 35th anniversary salute, BLACK ENTERPRISE presents Ultimate Wealth Builders--a monthly series profiling entrepreneurs, financiers, and corporate chieftains. Through innovative thinking, these men and women have had an immeasurable impact on the wealth-building potential of black Americans. For profiles of all of our Ultimate Wealth Builders, go to www.blackenterpise.com