of black American slaves are suing London’s oldest insurance firm, Lloyd’s of London, for compensation for allegedly underwriting the ships used in the slave trade. The case will throw a strange light on one of the atrocities of modern times. Insurance could be such a difficult issue for the owners of slave ships. Take the case of the Zong, a British vessel out of Liverpool that transported a human cargo from Africa in 1781. Food and water were running low; some of the slaves were dying. So, what to do? Under the terms of the insurance, a death by natural causes would not receive payment, but a death by drowning would. The answer was clear to Captain Luke Collingwood: throw more than 130 slaves overboard to claim the insurance. In the event, the matter was contested when it came to court. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Mansfield, was clearly uneasy even as he understood the dilemma: “The case of the slaves was the same as if horses had been thrown overboard.'’ In the end, there was no payment and some good came of the atrocity. Publicity from the case pricked consciences and helped spur the abolition of the trade. It also prompted the English artist, Joseph Mallord William Turner, to paint the episode in oils, and that work now hangs in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Later pricked consciences would prompt a Museum of Slavery on the dockside in Liverpool near where the Zong used to berth. Morals and commerce The case shows how slavery was just another trade needing just another insurance policy. It’s true that some companies were uneasy about insuring slave ships, though not out of high moral principle but out of commercial wariness. Insurers became aware of the practice of taking out policies to cover whole “shiploads”. The individual names listed on the policy were , and if any slave died it became easy to claim the death against insurance. Such was the prevalence of bogus claims that one Kentucky insurer wrote in a pamphlet in 1856: “The company is by no means solicitous of securing a large Negro insurance business unless the owners are careful and judicious men”. Slaves, for insurance purposes, were just like cattle. Which brings us to the question of how we should treat their descendants. ? One American insurance company, Aetna, has apologised for its in slavery. In one of its policies taken out in New Orleans in 1853, a woman named Mary Raby bought 12 months of cover for $17.25. Under it, the death of an insured slave would deliver a payment of $600. But the apology hasn’t led to reparations. The American courts have taken the view that past servitude doesn’t mean a present hurt for the descendants. In the case of Lloyd’s of London, the plaintiffs say they have proof through DNA that they are related to particular slaves who were insured there. And they add the crucial - but contended - point that they continue to suffer. One of the claimants, Deadria Farmer-Paellman, said: “Today I suffer from the injury of not knowing who I am - having no nationality or ethnic group as a result of acts committed by these parties.” She and her co-claimants have a lawyer with a reputation for winning. Ed Fagan acted for descendants of the victims of the Nazi death camps and secured $1.25 billion in reparation from Swiss banks that received some of the confiscated property. “Lloyd’s knew that what they were doing led to the destruction of the indigenous population,” Mr Fagan said. “Why is it too far fetched to say that blacks should be entitled to compensation for damages and genocide committed against them, when every other people in the world… that has been victimised in this way has been entitled to compensation?” It will be a good court argument. But a judge will need convincing that the pains of the slaves of two centuries ago are still being felt so much by their descendants that they merit many millions of dollars in reparations.

Insurers estimate that Hurricane Charley, the worst storm to hit the US in over a decade, may cost them as much as $14bn (7.6bn; 11bn euros).

At least 16 people have been killed and thousands left homeless after Florida was pummelled by high winds.

Companies, however, will get help from the US government, which has set up a special fund to pay for repairs.

The world’s largest reinsurer, Munich Re, estimates that the total amount of damage done will be closer to $20bn.

Hurricane Andrew left a bill of about $22bn when it ripped through the US 12-years ago.

Big catastrophe

While the total size of claims may seem massive, any damage to the profitability of the insurance companies involved is set to be far smaller.

Munich Re estimated that the storm would cost it a “low triple-digit euro sum”- the low hundreds of millions.

Insurance giant Allianz said the impact on results could be around 50m euros ($61m; 33.5m).

At Lloyd’s of London, experts think they will have to meet about a third of the costs.

Insured losses US$m 1992-USA, Andrew-$17,000m 1994-USA,$15,300m 1990-Western Europe-storms-$10,200m 1991-Japan,$5,200m 1995-Japan,Kobe-Earthquake-$3,000m Source: Munich Re

One group said it did not expect the size of claims related to Hurricane Charley to cause problems for Lloyd’s syndicates.

Following Hurricane Andrew in 1992, many insurance companies raised premiums and some observers are speculating that the same could happen again now.

Claimants

Most of the damage caused by Hurricane Charley happened in a stretch of Florida which runs from Fort Myers to Orlando, and advice is being posted for victims on the internet.

For example, www.news14charlotte.com advises people to photograph the exterior and interior of their premises so they have a record of the damage.

Calling the insurance agent and reporting the claim is key as the agent will then prepare a Notice of Loss form, and an adjuster will be assigned to assist the claimant.

The site also advises people to separate damaged and undamaged property, putting it in the best possible order for the adjuster’s examination.

Once the insurance claiming process is underway, people can apply for financial help from the US government.

Helping hand

Twenty-five counties have been declared disaster areas and according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) some residents will be eligible for low-cost loans and direct grants.

Others will be able to get help from the U.S. Small Business Administration, which is providing low-interest loans for homeowners, people in rented accommodation, businesses and private non-profit organizations that are not fully covered by insurance.

To seek government help log on to FEMA’s Web site at www.fema.gov. and click on Help After a Disaster: Applicant’s Guide to the Individuals & Households Program.

Those without access to a computer can also call FEMA’s Disaster Helpline at (800) 621-3362.

About 200,000 has been recovered from the estate of criminal Paul Patrick Daly who was murdered in May 2001.

The 38-year-old Belfast man was shot up to 10 times as he pulled up in a car in front of a relative’s house.

At the time, security sources said the police were the possibility of IRA in the killing and that it was drugs-related.

The High Court has granted the Assets Recovery Agency the proceeds from a house Daly owned.

On Tuesday, Mr Justice Coghlin made a Recovery Order in respect of 90% of the Laurelgrove Dale property and 100% of the proceeds of an accidental death insurance policy.

of will

In a civil action, the agency said Daly had derived a major part of his income from crime, including drug dealing in Belfast, Newry and Antrim.

The victim, a father-of-four from south Belfast, was shot dead in Stephen Street in the city as he was with his partner and daughter, who was then aged 12.

The ARA said Daly had a string of criminal convictions dating back to 1983, including robbery, theft, serious assaults and firearms offences.

The recovery order was made on the consent of Jacqueline Conroy, who was Daly’s partner and beneficiary of his will.

When the property is sold, Ms Conroy will received 10% of the value of the property.

ARA Deputy Director Alan McQuillan said the 200,000 “will now be recovered and recycled to help the fight against crime”.

“We now look forward to seeing more and more cases being finalised in the High Court.”

tp://propertyinsurance.blog.bizhat.com/”>property and casualty insurance licenseo 600,000 people living in flood risk areas across the country who have been unable to get insurance may now qualify, following the publication of a flood map by Norwich Union.

But despite this, there will still be people in the highest risk areas unable to get any cover at all.

Do you live in a high risk area? Have you had problems getting insurance?

Should more be done to help you?

We want to hear your views. Please send us an e-mail using the form below:

---

The problem with our insurance is that the Environment Agency’s Indicative Flood Plain maps are not yet accurate.

Despite the fact there has been no property flooded in our area in living memory, and the geography of the area makes flooding impossible anyway, the agency is impervious to reason, and seems to be covering its back by including as many areas as possible.

The government should set up one official body for flooding if flooding is on the increase Colin Walsh, Cambridge Flood Action Group

Norwich Union gave me quotes that were about 10% higher for this street than for an adjacent street that is not in the EA’s indicative floodplain area.

This extra cost will of course rise year by year. Why is the Environment Agency not forced to supply accurate data? Or if it cannot yet do so, restrained from blighting properties for no reason?

Chris Graebe

There were two factors not discussed on Money Box which deeply affect flood insurance, factors which Norwich Union is well aware of, and has been instrumental in addressing.

One is . If your home flooded, was it simply an natural catastrophe, or was it due to mistakes such as leaving lock gates open, building on flood plains, leaving no safety margin for drainage, or simply, an local structure for dealing with flooding.

You omit one very important fact on flood insurance. If your house is uninsurable it is also impossible to sell! R Macaskill

The second is the lack of joined-up thinking on the part of the government, with seven separate - and often warring - departments supposedly dealing with flooding.

The Environment Agency has no statutory powers, for example, and cannot prevent building on flood plains, but strongly advises against it.

The government should set up one official body for flooding if flooding is on the increase.

The products for helping to contain floods, too, have not been tested.

We spent 8000 on floodgates, have no idea if they work, get no support for such payments from the council or government, and no discount from insurance companies.

Colin Walsh, Cambridge Flood Action Group

You omit one very important fact on flood insurance.

If your house is uninsurable it is also impossible to sell! No one will give you a mortgage on an uninsurable house.

R Macaskill

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Japan’s government is to press ahead with the sell-off of the multi-trillion dollar postal savings system.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has signed off on a programme starting in 2007 and lasting a decade.

The plan has been watered down in the hope of calming ardent opposition from his own MPs, who fear mass lay-offs.

The system’s 350 trillion yen ($3.2 trillion; 1.7 trillion) in assets have provided a source of spare cash for politicians’ pet projects.

Mr Koizumi made privatisation one of his earliest priorities when he came into office in 2001.

The system has long been popular with Japanese savers, accustomed to rates of interest.

But it has therefore kept savings away from the private sector.

Rivals

There are about 25,000 post offices nationwide selling the system’s savings and insurance products, as well as regular postal services.

It will be a godzilla bank Jesper Koll, Merrill Lynch

In contrast, the seven main national banks have only 2,600 branches between them, although that figure does not include the dozens of regional banks also offering financial services.

A key fear is that its size will give it an unfair advantage over its existing rivals, and that the reforms will fail to regulate it sufficiently.

Its 227 trillion yen in savings deposits dwarfs those of its nearest competitor, Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, which has 67 trillion. The system’s 122 trillion yen in insurance assets are also scaring the insurance business.

“It will be a godzilla bank,” said Merrill Lynch’s Jesper Koll.

“It will be the beginning of an era of fierce competition with private financial institutions.

Fight ahead

Opposition within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to selling off the system remains fierce.

One key concern is the fate of the 300,000 or so staff.

Another is the fact that in many rural areas, postal savings offer the only easily-accessible financial services available.

To stem that concern, Mr Koizumi has on one key reform, and promised that the system will have a duty to offer nationwide services even after it goes private.

Branches will also have to continue offering both savings and insurance across the board, rather than being able to .

Despite the concessions, the LDP will lose access to the pork-barrel of the 350 trillion yen lodged in the system

The sell-off will first see a holding company take control of the system, with separate units for savings, insurance, postal services and a fourth for personnel and property management.

From 2007 on, each will gradually be sold off, but the savings and insurance sides will be allowed to continue cross-shareholdings to protect them from takeovers.

Allianz has become the latest major insurer to reveal that the Asian tsunami will have only a limited impact on its position. The German company, the world’s second largest insurer, said the natural disaster would cost it 22m euros (15m; $28.2m) in claims. The relatively low amount reflected the fact that much of property destroyed was uninsured, Allianz said. Insurers believe the disaster will cost the industry between $5bn and $10bn. Uninsured areas Allianz said that the cost of claims stemming from the tsunami, which was triggered by a huge below the Indian Ocean, would not have a “material” impact on its finances. “For the global industry itself it is not material because the losses were uninsured,” Bruce Bowers, chief executive of Allianz’s Asian business, told Reuters. “They are in remote areas or they were owned .” Coastal areas in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka bore the brunt of the tsunami, which is believed to have claimed more than 200,000 lives. Most people living in these areas could not afford insurance, thereby limiting insurers’ financial liabilities. Zurich Financial Services said on Monday that its financial exposure to the disaster was expected to amount to 70m euros (48m; $90m). According to estimates from the International Underwriting Association, total insurance losses from the disaster are likely to total between $5bn and $10bn.

A new scheme has been launched to help families keep out of the hands of loan sharks.

Hull City Council is opening up its credit union, which presently operates just for its employees, to anyone who lives in Hull and East Yorkshire.

The Hull and East Yorkshire Credit Union (HEYCU) will its members to be regular savers.

In return it will offer loans to people who are often turned down by the high street banks.

Regular savings

A credit union is a not-for-profit organisation that is owned and run by the savers and lenders.

There are already 2,500 Hull City Council workers in the scheme.

It works by a member saving a regular amount of money.

That pool of money enables low cost loans to be given to scheme members.

This is the first time the Services Authority has allowed a credit union to be expanded in this way.

As well as savings and loans, HEYCU hopes to be able to offer low-cost contents insurance to people who find it to get their property protected.

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