Insurance vs The Gambling Act of 1774

Why can’t you take out a life insurance policy on anyone you want?

Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In my seventh episode, I talk about the early development of life insurance in England, and how policies were often a lot closer to gambling than to insurance. Join me as I investigate some of the crazy things you could do with a life insurance policy in the 18th century and how the Gambling Act changed everything.

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Links:

• A License to Bet: Life insurance and the Gambling Act in the British Courts https://www.lehman.edu/academics/arts-humanities/history/documents/14.pdf
• Insurable Interest and the Doctrine of Privity of Contract | (lawexplores.com)
• Senior Life Settlements: A Cautionary Tale (fdic.gov) A well-written, great explanation of SLS and the risks associated with them. In particular, well worth the case study read where a bank allows a company to secure loans using life insurance policies they purchased as third-party transactions.
• The Incredible Chevalier d'Eon, Who Left France as a Male Spy and Returned as a Christian Woman - Atlas Obscura
• com: Monsieur d'Eon Is a Woman: A Tale of Political Intrigue and Sexual Masquerade: 9780801867316: Kates, Gary: Books I didn’t get a chance to read this but it’s on my to-do list.
• The Chevalier d'Eon | British Museum
• William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield - Wikipedia

Law Journal Articles (sorry, no links):

• Emigration, Fraud, Humanitarianism, and the Founding of Londonderry, South Carolina, 1763-1765, Robert A. Selig, Eighteenth-Century Studies, Autumn 1989, volume 23, No 1 pp 1-23

Books:

• Betting On Lives: The Culture of Life Insurance in England, 1695-1775 (Politics, Culture and Society in Early Modern Britain): Clark, Geoffrey: 9780719056758: Amazon.com: Books A great starting point to understand the entire picture of the culture of betting and life insurance in England.
• Annals, anecdotes and legends: a chronicle of life assurance : Francis, John : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Written in 1853, this book is archived online.
• A History Of British Insurance : E Raynes : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive From 1948, archived online

Music Credits:

• Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library