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of admiralty to take jurisdiction of an insurance case. The jurisdiction of causes involving the law of insurance would more properly have fallen to the courts of admiralty, which had cognizance of such causes throughout Europe, 18 and which have always been more. international in their character than any other courts of England. The jurisdiction of admiralty courts in such matters is recognized in the United States,1 but the jealousy which characterized the common-law courts in maintaining and extending their jurisdiction resulted in the early withdrawal of such causes from the English courts of admiralty, and their transfer to the common-law courts, as was indicated in the case of Crane v. Bell, mentioned above. The procedure in the common-law courts, however, and the rigid principles of common-law jurisprudence, were alike ill suited for settling the disputes of merchants in regard to insurance in either an expeditious or a satisfactory way, and the result of prohibition of jurisdiction to the admiralty courts was to continue the practice of submitting such mercantile questions to the arbitration of merchant courts. With the growth, however, of the volume and importance of insurance business, it began to be recognized that some more formal court, with power to enforce its judgments, was necessary for the proper administration of the law merchant. With this in view, there was created by the statute of 43 Eliz. (1601) a special court for the trial of marine insurance cases. This court was composed of the judge of the admiralty, the recorder of London, two doctors of the civil law, two lawyers, and eight grave and discreet merchants. This special court, however, must not have proved itself very efficient, for it seems to have passed out of existence within less than 100 years. It is possible, however, that the passing away of this court was due as much to the increased efficiency of the common-law courts as to the insufficiency of this special mercantile court.

The first reported insurance case heard before a common-law court is Dowdale's Case,15 which was decided in 1589. But so unwilling were the merchants to bring their causes before the commonlaw courts, that it is said that less than 60 insurance cases are to be found in all of the English reports prior to the time of Lord Mansfield's accession to the bench, in 1756.18 With the appointment of Lord Mansfield as Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench there came a new era in the common law with reference to questions involving the law merchant. This great judge, appreciating the peculiar circumstances that attended the making of mercantile con

13 See New England Marine Ins. Co. v. Dunham, 11 Wall. (U. S.) 1, 20 L. Ed. 90.

14 New England Marine Ins. Co. v. Dunham, supra.

15 Coke's Reports, pt. 6, p. 47b. See Parke, Ins. 43 et seq.

16 See Parke, Ins. ubi supra.

17

tracts, and the importance of considering the usages and customs of merchants as determining their rights under such contracts, began. a consistent effort to import into the common law such of the principles of the law merchant as would render the common law suitable for the administration of justice in regard to commercial rights. In order to determine what rules should be applied in deciding these causes, he looked to the various authorities that were in vogue on the Continent,1 such as have been mentioned above, and also had special juries impaneled to determine the customs of English merchants. Thus, in the skillful hands of Lord Mansfield, who is properly called the "Father of English Commercial Law," the essential principles of the law merchant were incorporated into the common-law system of England, and the common-law courts thereby rendered competent to take adequate cognizance of all questions involving insurance. When Mansfield retired from the bench in 1788, not only had the jurisdiction of the common-law courts over questions regarding the law merchant become fixed, but also the volume of litigation in such causes had increased to such an extent as to show that the merchants now regarded those courts as adequate for the administration of justice in connection with their commercial dealings.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF INSURANCE IN ENGLAND.

7. MARINE INSURANCE-For several centuries after its introduction into England, insurance was confined to marine risks, and consequently the law of marine insurance was first developed in the English courts, and until recent times remained the pre-eminently important branch of insurance law.

8. FIRE INSURANCE—Insurance against loss by fire is of comparatively recent origin, the first regular office being opened in 1681, and assumed little importance before the beginning of the nineteenth century. During the century just closed the growth of the business of fire insurance companies was very rapid, and the law of insurance against fire now rivals that of marine insurance in importance.

9. LIFE INSURANCE—Insurance against loss by death is of still later origin, and is of a somewhat different nature from insurance against marine and fire risks. The volume of life insurance business has grown greatly in recent years.

10. ACCIDENT INSURANCE—Insurance against accidental injury, including death by accident, is derived from, and in principle is but a form of, life insurance.

17 As evidence of the international character of maritime law, see the citations in The Osceola, 189 U. S. 158, 23 Sup. Ct. 433, 47 L. Ed. 760. A case involving fire insurance has recently been decided in a trial court in Louisville, Ky., on the authority of a French work on Insurance, by Alauzet, published in 1843.

Marine Insurance as Developed from the Usages at Lloyd's.

While the practice among merchants of insuring their marine adventures doubtless had its origin as early as the thirteenth century, yet we have no evidence of any definitely settled regulations or methods of carrying on insurance business in London before the latter part of the seventeenth century. It is known that Lloyd's Coffee House, an inn kept by one Edward Lloyd on Tower street in London, was, as early as 1688, a popular resort for seafaring men and merchants engaged in foreign trade. It became the custom among those who gathered at Lloyd's to make their gathering an occasion for arranging their mutual contracts of insurance against the sea perils to which their ventures were exposed. The method employed in making such insurance contracts was for the person desiring the insurance to pass around among the company assembled a slip upon which was written a description of the vessel and its cargo, with the name of the master and the character of his crew, and the voyage contemplated. Those desiring to become insurers of the ventures so described would write beneath the description on this slip their names or initials, and opposite thereto the amount which each was willing to be liable for as insurer. When the total amount of insurance desired by the owner of the vessel was thus underwritten, the contract was complete. From this practice, among those congregating at Lloyd's, is derived the term "underwriters," as now applied to insurers. The business of insurance carried on in this informal way at Lloyd's seems to have increased rapidly, and the commercial importance of the house required that it should be removed to a more commodious and convenient site, which was found on Lombard street, whither Lloyd removed his house in 1692. Both the importance of this coffee house in commercial circles, and the enterprise of its proprietor, were shown by the establishment in 1696 of a newspaper, giving information of commercial transactions and of the movement of shipping throughout the world. While this newspaper was shortly afterwards suppressed by reason of some indiscretion on the part of its publisher, it was yet the progenitor of "Lloyd's Lists," the publication of which was begun in 1726, and which continues up to this day as the most important publication in the shipping and commercial world. After various removals, Lloyd's finally found permanent quarters in the Royal Exchange, where it is now located, and remains, probably the greatest and most important single commercial factor in the mercantile world.

The conduct of the business of marine insurance continued to be largely informal, governed by no fixed rules or regulations, either as to the membership in the company of attending brokers, or as to the terms and incidents of the contracts made, until 1769, when the underwriters accustomed to writing insurance there were formed

into a society governed by rules established in accordance with the customs that had been developed. It soon became evident that many advantages would flow from the establishing of a fixed form of policy which should be used by the contractors at Lloyd's, and, as a consequence, in 1779 the famous "Lloyd's Policy" was adopted as the standard form for marine insurance. The terms of this policy have been subjected to much criticism, and even vituperation, at the hands of writers and courts, Mr. Justice Buller declaring that it was "absurd and incoherent." 18 Yet the uniformity introduced into the business of insurance by its use, and the fact that many of its terms have been construed by the courts, render the venerable document valuable for practical purposes, and justify its retention, with a few needful changes that have since been made, in the modern business. of marine insurance. In 1871 the Society of Lloyd's was incorporated, one of the purposes of incorporation being "the collection, publication, and diffusion of intelligence and information with respect to shipping." In carrying out this purpose, Lloyd's and its agencies throughout the civilized world have attained a high degree of efficiency, so that no movement of any considerable vessel, in any part of the world, is made without being promptly reported and published at Lloyd's. In addition to "Lloyd's Lists," before mentioned, the society publishes "Lloyd's Captains' Register," containing information with reference to the character and experience of all the certified masters engaged in British commerce, and "Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping," published annually, which gives full descriptions of British and foreign vessels engaged in commerce. The symbol used in rating the highest class of wooden vessels in this publication, "A 1," has passed into popular usage as indicating the highest degree of excellence. A record of all casualties occurring during any year is kept in what is known as the "Black Book," and the posting of any vessel at Lloyd's as "missing" is regarded as sufficient evidence of the loss of such vessel to entitle the owner thereof to demand the payment of the insurance.1o

The immense volume and great relative importance of the foreign commerce of England make marine insurance in that country by far the most important branch of the law of insurance, as it was for centuries the only branch.

The Establishment and Development of Fire Insurance.

There is some evidence that even in Saxon times agreements were made in small communities for mutual aid in case of loss by fire,

18 Brough v. Whitmore, 4 T. R. 206.

19 See Richards, Ins. p. 11. The brokers at Lloyd's still continue their unique methods of underwriting individually risks proposed, and issuing binding slips, which are followed by formally drawn policies. See Garrett's Insurance Reference Book (1901) p. 283.

but such practice evidently assumed no considerable proportions or importance, and it was not until after the great London Fire of 1666 that fire insurance can be said to have become of any importance as a business. Indeed, no regular cfice was open for the purpose of insuring against loss by fire until 1681, when certain brokers seem to have formed a loose organization for this purpose in the rear of the Royal Exchange. The year 1710 saw the establishment of the oldest of all fire insurance companies, the Sun Fire Office, which was a mutual and stock company.20 Various other companies were established at later periods, but the business of fire insurance did not attain to any very considerable proportions before the beginning of the nineteenth century. The application of the principles of insurance to losses by fire on land, however much their beneficence might be recognized in the case of marine insurance, did not meet with early favor in England, it being supposed that the tendency of such insurance was to increase the number of cases of arson, and thus make the practice injurious to the best interests of the public. That this belief was not without foundation can be seen from the statistics, which show that, during the years of 1852-66, which period exhibited a marked increase in the volume of fire insurance business, the increase of fires of suspicious origin in England was from 341⁄2 per cent. to 521⁄2 per cent. The business of fire insurance companies, being thus subjected to popular disfavor and suspicion, was deemed a proper subject for taxation, and accordingly the British government imposed taxes, varying in amount from time to time, upon all companies insuring against fire risks down to as late a time as 1869, when it began to be recognized that the business of fire insurance was not only proper, but highly beneficial to the property interests of the country, and the burden of taxation was removed.21 During the last quarter of the nineteenth century the business of fire insurance in England increased with great rapidity. Probably the largest fire insurance companies in the world are two great English companies, which have established branches in all civilized countries.

The Origin and Rise of Life Insurance.

The first attempt made to apply the principles of insurance to indemnifying those who suffer on account of the death of others was in 1706, when the "Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office" was founded. The plan of operation in this society was merely to require from each member, irrespective of age or condi

20 This venerable company still carries on a large and prosperous business. 21 See article "Insurance," 13 Enc. Brit. It is estimated that in the United States over 30 per cent. of the fire insurance losses are to be attributed to fires of intentional origin. See Fire Insurance and Causes of Fires, by F. C. Moore, at page 17.

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