Titanic insurance document resurfaces for auction in Britain after 114 years
The original paperwork for the ship's $5 million total-loss cover is expected to fetch up to $67,000 at an upcoming auction.
An original insurance document linked to the Titanic's final voyage has resurfaced and is set to be auctioned in Devizes, England. According to the Times of India, the British auction house Henry Aldridge and Son will offer the document on November 21 with an estimated price between £30,000 and £50,000.
The document records the individual share of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company, which covered $100,000 of the risk. The wider $5 million total-loss arrangement was made by the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, the parent of the White Star Line, involving 77 insurers.
Signed on March 27, 1912, the paperwork provided coverage that began on March 30. The Titanic struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, and sank on April 15, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,500 people.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge noted that the owners received their full insurance payout within 30 days of the sinking. He stated that while owners were paid quickly, families seeking negligence claims had to wait four years for a combined $663,000 in compensation.
The document was recovered from the archives of Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company, which entered liquidation in 2011. It was later included in a New York exhibition before being purchased by a dealer.
The November 21 sale will also include original shipbuilding plans used by the Belfast company Harland and Wolff.