The Washington herald., 1907-03-03
ODD INSURANCE RISKS
Every Vagary of Fate May Be Discounted
in Cash at Lloyds.

Lloyds Of London is the one place IN the
world where every vagary Of fate may be
discounted In cash The brokers who
gather in Llcyds great room in the Royal
Exchange viii write insurance against
every conceivable contingency or act Of
/ Providence which can be given an equiv
alent in pounds. shillings, and pence.
News was eabled from London a week
ago that Lloyd's had written a policy
against Harry K. Thaw's conviction for
murder. agreeing to pay total loss IL he
is put to death. for the consideration of
30 gutneas per cent, says the Philadelphia
| Ledger. The amount underwTitten was
not divulged nor was the identity Of the
insured made public. but those who are
familiar with the operations Of the under
I writer's do not hesitate TO deny that the
/ risk was taken as a bet, pure and simple.
/ The placing of insurance against the out
! come of famous trials has been common
practice at Lloyds since the days when
the underwriters met In Lloyds coffee
/ house
! That these risks are taken at the behest
/ Of gamblers always, the Lloyd's men
deny, though as early as 17Gs an article
appeared in the London Chronicle con-
demning the coffee house as meet
/ ing place for al manner Of Illicit gaming"
and complaining that bets were made
I there under the guise Of insurance" on
| all the happenings Of the day, from the
outcome Of elections 70 the trials Of
peers.
1t is said in defense of such risks as
that placed on the Thaw case that there
by is furnished an Insurance on the repu-
tation OF the lawyers engaged. The legal
/ talent conducting a defense may By this
means provide against the damage 10
prestige involved IN an adverse verdict
Gilmore Benefit Claim.
Just now the New York agent is en-
gagged in adjusting a claim growing out
/ Of the benefit given at Manhattan Beach
.ast summer for the widow and children
o. Patrick sarsheld Gilmore. It was an
nounced at the time Of the performance
that the benefit had been a great success.
but that the returns did not entirely come
Up TO the expectations Of the promoters is
evidenced by the fact that nov. months
afterward, they are about to collect from
Lloyd's the difference between actual and
estimated profits.
Another example Of the activity Of the
London underwriters was the insurance
taken out last summer by the managers
.of the Vanderbilt Cup race on Long
Island. II is not revealed what the
.amouut Of the policy was. OF the premium
paid, but the risk was against suits for
damages arising out Of accidents IL will
be recalled that il was during this race
that the first fatality among the spects-
tors occurred. when Elliot f. ShCpard's
ear struck a man who had stepped out on
the course. killing him instantly.
The business of the agency as a cOrpo-
ration is marine Insurance purely. but
since the seventeenth century the indi-
vidual members OF the group have been
willing to take I'D any risk for a proper
consideration. Then. the safe return Of "a
ship 10 port was a gamble AT best. and in
sIrance was little more than a gamester's
business. but in these latter days the
members of Ll0yd's. who have reduced
marine risks 90 a science as exact as life
insurance. resent the hkeniag of their
trade 10 the bettors. and make claim with
some reason that with the experience Of
more than two centuries il is possible 10
discount fate in every branch Of human
affairs with something like the scientific
accuracy Of the mortality table.
some Odd assurances.
OF the thousands of odd assurances
placed at Lloyd's. one of the longest
standing is that held by a tradesmar On
q oh.
shadow of the Nelson monument. He has
carried a policy for "a generation against
the possible damage TO his premises
should the monument fan.
A certain group of underwriters makes a
speciality of insuring against the calamity
Of twins or Of triplets This risk. it is
claimed, has been reduced to traiy
scientific basis. and the premium is ar
rived at only after a careful consideration
OF the family history Of the insured and
other data on which long experience has
proved dependence can be placed.
Another of the legitimate sources of
Lloyd's profits is established through the
agencys information Of the inside history
Of European politics. During the South
African wax sc was the general belief in
the grain trade that the Car would issue
a ukase against the shipment of Russian
wheat from the ports Of the Black Sea
After a quiet investigation Of the Situa-
ton. Lloyds established a premium rate
against the contingency on which thou
sands of pounds worth of insurance was
taken out by the grain merchants who
looked for large trade in Russian bread
stuffs with the army i'm the Transvaal
Lloyd's information that the ports would
remain open proved correct, and the pre-
miums We're clear proht.
Losses ON Coronation.
one OF the largest losses sustained by
the agency in recent years was through
the postponement of the coronation cere-
monies at The time of King Edwards ill.,
ness. The pOstpOuement of the ceremonies /
fell heavily on the Lloyd's underwriters,
not only because of the losses on the
grand stands, whose profits they had in
sured. but ont of the large number Of
policies sold to tradesmen on goods laid
in against the expected holiday demand
At the same time Loyds did a thriving
euslnsss i'm the sale OF policies on the
Kings life. means taken by tradesnen
- insure themselves against the heavy
ckrtaiiuent of profits which would have
resulted from a period OF general mourn /
ing IN London.
Alother wholesale source of gain to the !
underwriters was during the smallpox /
scare in London in 1902. Policies We're is /
sued not only against individual infection. 4
but against the losses to Shopkeepers in /
case Of quarantine.
War and the lives of crowned heads /
have always been the greatest businesses /
the LiOyd's, outside Of marine insur- 4
anco. 1t was during the period of almost /
continual disturbance in Europe, between /
1T75 and 1915. that the Il0yd's brokers 4
took their place as the leading under /