Author Topic: 1798 Insurance Ledger  (Read 4263 times)

Offline Mal.F

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1798 Insurance Ledger
« on: Tuesday 02 December 14 10:15 GMT (UK) »
My local museum has had access to an Insurance underwriters ledger from about 1798.  I would appreciate any assistance in deciphering some of the terms used.
Mal.F

Offline CarolA3

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Re: 1798 Insurance Ledger
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 02 December 14 13:51 GMT (UK) »
Hello Mal.F and welcome to RootsChat!

Is this 1798 ledger from the UK?  I worked in the UK insurance industry for many years, although I don't go back quite that far - the oldest active policy I ever dealt with was only written in 1898.

If you can give a couple of examples of the ledger entries in question, I'll try to help or at least suggest another course of action.

Regards,
Carol
OXFORDSHIRE / BERKSHIRE
Bullock, Cooper, Boler/Bowler, Wright, Robinson, Lee, Prior, Trinder, Newman, Walklin, Louch

Offline Mal.F

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Re: 1798 Insurance Ledger
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 02 December 14 17:35 GMT (UK) »
Hi Carol, Attached is a spreadsheet of part of it.  The query is about the meaning of RETURN, is it like a no claim discount or on a return cargo.  Many thanks for your time.
Mal.F

Offline mazi

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Re: 1798 Insurance Ledger
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 02 December 14 22:11 GMT (UK) »
Welcome to roots chat from me also  :)
I think it means that if the ship does not return within a certain number of months then the insurance is paid out
Before the days of wireless a ship left port and you knew very little until it returned several months later, I notice one that says single trip?, presumably the outward journey only,

Mike


Offline mazi

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Re: 1798 Insurance Ledger
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 02 December 14 22:23 GMT (UK) »
I now wonder if it is the speed of the voyage and the cargo that is being insured, rather than the ship itself, in the sense that if your agent has loaded raw sugar in Jamaica and you had already sold that sugar on with a delivery date you are insuring against your potential loss if it doesn't arrive in time.

I think that cargoes were sometimes syndicated by several merchants

I am often wrong  ;D ;D

Mike

Offline CarolA3

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Re: 1798 Insurance Ledger
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 03 December 14 16:38 GMT (UK) »
Hi Carol, Attached is a spreadsheet of part of it.  The query is about the meaning of RETURN, is it like a no claim discount or on a return cargo.  Many thanks for your time.
Mal.F

Mal, does the museum have a scan or photograph of the original book?  Presumably this extract originally covered two facing pages of a large ledger with column headings.  Do they know what those headings were?  Is there a preamble?

Also, do they know who the insurer was i.e. a company or a Lloyd's underwriter?

A series of marine insurance laws was passed in the late 1700s to stop certain corrupt practices, and I think this might be an example of the consequent improvement in record-keeping.  (If only I'd kept my old textbooks!)

Carol
OXFORDSHIRE / BERKSHIRE
Bullock, Cooper, Boler/Bowler, Wright, Robinson, Lee, Prior, Trinder, Newman, Walklin, Louch

Offline Romilly

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Re: 1798 Insurance Ledger
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 03 December 14 16:48 GMT (UK) »
Hello Mal.F and welcome to RootsChat!

Is this 1798 ledger from the UK?  I worked in the UK insurance industry for many years, although I don't go back quite that far - the oldest active policy I ever dealt with was only written in 1898.

If you can give a couple of examples of the ledger entries in question, I'll try to help or at least suggest another course of action.

Regards,
Carol

Just butting in here...

Because both my Great Grandfather and G/G/Grandfather worked for The Pearl Assurance Company, London. The Company was founded in 1857 as The Pearl Loan Company and operated from the Royal Oak Public House opposite the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. It changed its name to The Pearl Assurance Company in 1914. Since then, it's been taken over so many times that I've lost track of it... ::) ::)

Romilly.
Any census information included in this post is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Researching:
Wilson, Warren, Dulston, Hooper, Duffin, Petty, Rees, Davies, Williams, Newman, Dyer, Hamilton, Edmeads, Pattenden.

Offline mazi

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Re: 1798 Insurance Ledger
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 03 December 14 17:03 GMT (UK) »
Barbados, Antigua St Kits and Jamaica all apear as common destinations for the slave trade, in which Liverpool was quite active before its abolition.
I might watch from the sidelines  :)
Mike

Offline Mal.F

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Re: 1798 Insurance Ledger
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday 03 December 14 19:34 GMT (UK) »
Hi Carol
Attached are three consecutive jpegs. I hope thes make more sense.
Mal.F