Insurance Vs History

Insurance CEO Pay: What's Fair, What's History, and What's Next? I started trying to answer one question: is Insurance CEO pay fair? and ended up with a massive project. In this episode, I dig into the history of executive pay, share eye-opening stats from AIG, and ask for your help with figuring out who gets paid what and how that's changed over time. Plus, submit your insurance grievance for inclusion in my holiday Festivus episode! Selected References: 1.      https://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/mag-features/2025/06/16/827459.htm 2.      https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/guides/insurance-ceo-salary-how-much-do-executives-of-the-top-insurers-earn-467192.aspx 3.      https://consumerfed.org/press_release/insurance-ceos-get-27-salary-and-bonus-bump-while-consumers-see-premium-hikes-and-non-renewals/ 4.      https://www.businessinsurance.com/gallery/highest-paid-insurance-executives-2025/ 5.      https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2025/8/neuehealths-mikan-tops-insurtech-ceo-pay-list-in-2024-92202141 6.      https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2025/8/arch-capitals-papadopoulo-tops-pc-insurer-ceo-pay-list-in-2024-92167011   Hire me to speak at your meeting! I can talk about the topic of your choice, or I can talk about the history of insurance and why insurance matters.  Reach out for booking info or just to connect at meredith@insurancevshistory.com Help keep independent podcasts going by contributing to my production costs: See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Insurance vs History is Exploring all the ways Insurance changed History...or failed to. Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Email: meredith@insurancevshistory.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meredithbrasher

Is Your DNA Safe? Inside 23andMe's Bankruptcy and Insurance Challenges What happens when a company owns your DNA data—and then goes bankrupt? In this episode, I dive into the complicated story of 23andMe, exploring its insurance challenges, genetic data risks, privacy concerns, and the ongoing impact for consumers in today's health and insurance landscape. If you have data with 23andMe or any other consumer focused genetic data company, I strongly suggest you listen. Selected References: https://www.inc.com/magazine/201510/jeff-bercovici/the-dna-whisperer.html 23andMe, Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review, Volume 119, No. 4 https://www.fastcompany.com/3052283/how-ceo-anne-wojcicki-turned-23andme-around-after-falling-out-with-the- https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/23andMe/ (Bankruptcy Documents) Hire me to speak at your meeting! I can talk about the topic of your choice, or I can talk about the history of insurance and why insurance matters.  Reach out for booking info or just to connect at meredith@insurancevshistory.com Help keep independent podcasts going by contributing to my production costs: See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Insurance vs History is Exploring all the ways Insurance changed History...or failed to. Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Email: meredith@insurancevshistory.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meredithbrasher

Tesla's Insurance Gamble: Why Cheaper Isn't Always Better (& What History Teaches Us) Why would Tesla get into the insurance business, and is it really a new idea? In this episode, I explore Tesla's foray into insurance, the bumps they've hit along the way, and why history shows automakers rarely succeed with insurance.  Selected References: 1.      https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2025/10/06/tesla-insurance-in-trouble-for-claims-mishandling/?kw=Tesla%20insurance%20in%20trouble%20for%20claims%20mishandling&utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=newsroomupdate&utm_content=20251006&utm_term=pc360&oly_enc_id&user_id=29a99e396b51ff1e37567d2fe2ef4b2d7540d4c206a60ee86a83e02abf0199f8 2.      https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2025/release064-2025.cfm 3.      https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-insurance/ 4.      https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/auto-motor/why-has-tesla-insurance-fallen-short-for-some-customers-471754.aspx 5.      https://www.insurancethoughtleadership.com/six-things-commentary/why-tesla-insurance-will-flop Hire me to speak at your meeting! I can talk about the topic of your choice, or I can talk about the history of insurance and why insurance matters.  Reach out for booking info or just to connect at meredith@insurancevshistory.com Help keep independent podcasts going by contributing to my production costs: See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Insurance vs History is Exploring all the ways Insurance changed History...or failed to. Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Email: meredith@insurancevshistory.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meredithbrasher

When Insurance Meets Scandal: The Boy Scouts Abuse Crisis Explained How did insurance influence the Boy Scouts of America's response to decades of sexual abuse allegations? In this episode, I dig into the organization's troubled history, insurance involvement, bankruptcy, survivor compensation, institutional accountability, and my personal reflection on how insurance both helped and hindered justice for victims. References: On My Honor: The Secret History of the Boy Scouts of America, by Kim Christensen: https://bookshop.org/p/books/on-my-honor-the-secret-history-of-the-boy-scouts-of-america-kim-christensen/0fe5570c55088847?ean=9781538726730&next=t Morally Straight: How the Fight for LGBTQ+ Inclusion Changed the Boy Scouts—and America: https://bookshop.org/p/books/morally-straight-how-the-fight-for-lgbtq-inclusion-changed-the-boy-scouts-and-america-mike-de-socio/7dd05d8a718ca500?ean=9781639363858&next=t Hire me to speak at your meeting! I can talk about the topic of your choice, or I can talk about the history of insurance and why insurance matters.  Reach out for booking info or just to connect at meredith@insurancevshistory.com Help keep independent podcasts going by contributing to my production costs: See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Insurance vs History is Exploring all the ways Insurance changed History...or failed to. Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Email: meredith@insurancevshistory.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meredithbrasher

Noncompete Agreements: How the FTC's Rule Change Impacts Insurance, Employees, and History Do you know the history behind noncompete agreements — and how they impact the insurance industry today? On the latest Insurance vs History Podcast, I take a quick look at the FTC's shifting stance on noncompete agreements, industry implications, and their surprising 15th-century origins. Reference Articles: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/09/08/838180.htm Hire me to speak at your meeting! I can talk about the topic of your choice, or I can talk about the history of insurance and why insurance matters.  Reach out for booking info or just to connect at meredith@insurancevshistory.com Help keep independent podcasts going by contributing to my production costs: See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Insurance vs History is Exploring all the ways Insurance changed History...or failed to. Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Website: Home - Insurance vs History Podcast Email: meredith@insurancevshistory.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meredithbrasher

When Did Pollution Happen? Unpacking Montrose, DDT, and Liability Insurance   Imagine a pollution disaster so messy that it's taken over 40 years to work out the insurance payments. In this episode of Insurance vs History, I dive into the story of Montrose Chemical and DDT, a discussion spanning WWII, Superfund lawsuits, and barrels of toxic waste leaking off California's coast.  Join me to discuss the reason why it's taken 40 years to resolve, what the heck Montrose wording even means, and why it matters.   Hire me to speak at your meeting! I can talk about the topic of your choice, or I can talk about the history of insurance and why insurance matters.  Reach out for booking info or just to connect at meredith@insurancevshistory.com Help keep independent podcasts going by contributing to my production costs: See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Insurance vs History is Exploring all the ways Insurance changed History...or failed to. Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Website: Home - Insurance vs History Podcast Email: meredith@insurancevshistory.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meredithbrasher  

Insurance vs History is a show doing for insurance what Freakanomics did for economics. Don't understand insurance? Can't imagine why anyone should care about a global industry that impacts your daily life in ways you don't even realize? Host Meredith Brasher shines a light on both the good and bad stories of insurance, explaining it along the way. Season Five starts in September 2025 with new episodes twice a month. 

Insurance vs Cuthbert Heath  Who is Cuthbert Heath, and why is he considered the Founder of Modern Lloyds? Join me for a discussion of Cuthbert Heath, and a slightly different take on the man, the myth, the legend.  Hire me! Contact meredith@insurancevshistory.com  Tip me! See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Insurance vs History is Exploring all the ways Insurance changed History...or failed to.   Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Website: www.insurancevshistory.com Email: meredith@insurancevshistory.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-brasher-76736926

Insurance vs The British Abolition Movement   What happens when an insurance case sparks the beginning of a national movement? Join me for the second episode of my series on Insurance and Slavery, where I talk about British Abolition, the Massacre on the Slave Ship Zong, and Lord Mansfield's insistence on NOT talking about slavery. Hire me! Contact insurancevshistory@gmail.com for details. Tip me! See my page at Buy Me a Coffee: Insurance vs History is Exploring all the ways Insurance changed History...or failed to. Selected Sources and Links: ·         The "Somerset" Effect: Parsing Lord Mansfield's Words on Slavery in Nineteenth Century America. Derek A Webb, Law and History Review, August 2014, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 455-490  ·         How Ideology Works: Historians and the Case of British Abolitionism. William Palmer, The Historical Journal, December 2009, Vol 52, No 4, pp 1039-1051 ·         Granville Sharp's manuscript letter to the admiralty on the Zong massacre: a New discovery in the British Library, Michelle Faubert, Slavery and Abolition, 2017 Vol 38., No 1., 178-195 ·         A Chain of Murder in the Slave Trade: A Wider Context of the Zong Massacre, Jeremy Krikler, IRSH 57 (2012) pp 393-415 ·         Insuring the Transatlantic Slave Trade Pearson, Robin and Richardson, David Journal of Economic History Volume 79, Issue 2, June 2019 pp 417-446 ·         Insurance Litigation Involving the Zong and Other British Slave Ships, 1780-1807. Oldham, James ·         The Zong in the Context of the Eighteenth-Century Slave Trade. Webster, Jane, The Journal of Legal History, Vol 28, No. 3, December 2007, pp 285-298 Books: ·         Black Ivory: Slavery in the British Empire: Walvin, James: 9780631229599: Amazon.com: Books o   Walvin has a lot of books about slavery, and I would consider him to be a good entry point for someone who hasn't read a lot about the topic.  ·         The Zong: A Massacre, the Law and the End of Slavery a book by James Walvin (bookshop.org) ·         Lord Mansfield: Justice in the Age of Reason a book by Norman S Poser (bookshop.org) ·         The Slave Ship: A Human History a book by Marcus Rediker (bookshop.org) ·         Econocide: British Slavery in the Era of Abolition a book by Seymour Drescher and David Brion Davis (bookshop.org) ·         Amazon.com: The Interest: 9781529110982: Michael Taylor: Books ·         Great Abolition Sham: Jordan, Michael: 9780750934909: Amazon.com: Books ·         Specters of the Atlantic: Finance Capital, Slavery, and the Philosophy of History a book by Ian Baucom o   This is a great book, but it is more about philosophy than history. Read at your own risk. Documentaries/Television: ·         Amazing Grace (2006) - IMDb o   Rotten score 68 tomatometer and 85 popcornmeter ·         Belle (2013) - IMDb o   Rotten Score: 85 tomatometer and 82 popcornmeter o   Note that this movie's plot about the Zong is entirely fictional. Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

Insurance vs the Station Nightclub Fire Without giving my age away entirely, I will admit…I'm a child of the 80s. I've been lucky enough to have seen several of my favorite 80s artists perform their greatest hits.  It never crossed my mind that something could go wrong during a concert and I might be in danger. But on February 2, 2003, more than 400 people who also loved the 1980s attended a concert at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. But that night, something went wrong. A fire broke out at the concert, resulting in 100 deaths and 230 injuries. When bad things like this happen—insurance should respond. That's what it's there to do. But what if the people responsible don't have enough insurance to compensate those affected by the disaster? Well, then things get complicated. This is a story about how small decisions can result in tragedy; how fire spreads faster than you imagine; and how the people who are responsible are sometimes not the people who are held accountable. Selected Sources and Links: ·         Report of the Technical Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire (NIST NCSTAR 2), Volume 1 | NIST ·         The Station nightclub fire - Wikipedia ·         Rhode Island Nightclub Owners Appealing $1M Fine in Fire Case (claimsjournal.com) ·         Rhode Island Nightclub Owners Dispute Workers' Comp Finding (claimsjournal.com) ·         Judge Lagueux, who oversaw the Station nightclub fire case, dies at 91 (providencejournal.com) ·         A Story One Can Write Today - (adelmanlawgroup.com) ·         20 years after the Station nightclub fire, a look at what's changed | GBH (wgbh.org) ·         Settlement Details Offered in Rhode Island Club Fire Case (insurancejournal.com) ·         Inside The Inferno: The Station Nightclub Fire | Thought Catalog ·         Station nightclub fire: government defendants settle - Overlawyered ·         Insurers, Final Defendants Settle R.I. Nightclub Fire Lawsuits (claimsjournal.com) ·         Survivors of R.I. club fire await settlement cash (nbcnews.com) ·         GREAT WHITE Members Are 'Shocked And Saddened' By JACK RUSSELL's Trademark Lawsuit - BLABBERMOUTH.NET ·         Great White Lawsuit Lotto | National Review ·         Families Upset Over 'Pokemon Go' Stop at Rhode Island Nightclub Fire Site (claimsjournal.com) ·         Rhode Island Wants Nightclub Owners Held Personally Liable for Failure to Carry Workers' Comp (insurancejournal.com) ·         Trial Date Set for R.I. Nightclub Owners Over Workers' Comp Payments (insurancejournal.com) ·         R.I. Nightclub Owners Submit List of Assets After Filing for Bankruptcy (insurancejournal.com) ·         The negligent premises liability inspection: Potential liability for the insurer? (insurancejournal.com) ·         Report of the Technical Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire (NIST NCSTAR 2), Volume 1 | NIST ·         Defending the Deep Pocket: California Proposition 51 Offset and Vicarious Liability | Tyson & Mendes (tysonmendes.com) ·         Litigation financing changing the deep-pocket advantage | Gallagher USA (ajg.com) ·         Vicarious Liability – The Deep Pocket (dresslerlaw.com) ·         Trucking Leads Growth in Nuclear Verdicts | Transport Topics (ttnews.com) ·         Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act - Wikipedia ·         Station Fire Memorial Foundation (thestationfirememorialfoundation.org)   Sources with Paywall: ·         Liability Policies Getting Lost in 'Deep Pockets'. Hazeltine, Rick.  San Diego Business Journal; San Diego Vol. 6, Iss. 33, Mar 17, 1986 ·         How to raid deep pockets — the Chicago way. Choslovsky, William.  Chicago Tribune Tribune Publishing Company, LLC. Oct 27, 2017 ·         Cappelletti, Marco, 'Deep Pockets', Justifying Strict Liability: A Comparative Analysis in Legal Reasoning. Oxford, 2022 ·         Great White was carrying $1 million in insurance; five lawsuits filed. Fitzpatrick, Edward.  Knight Ridder Tribune News Service; Washington. 03 July 2003 ·         Rhode Island Nightclub Lessors Sue for Insurance Coverage. Ebbert, Stephanie.  Knight Ridder Tribune Business News; Washington. 24 Apr 2003 ·         Lessons learned from the station fire. Mark Mandell and Yvette Boisclair Aug. 2013 Trial(Vol. 49, Issue 8)Publisher: American Association for Justice Books: ·         Killer Show: The Station Nightclub Fire, America's Deadliest Rock Concert: Barylick, John: 9781611688535: Amazon.com: Books ·         Amazon.com: Trial by Fire: A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost, and a 15-Year Search for Truth: 9781250131263: James, Scott: Books Documentaries/Television: ·         48 Hours: Season 34, episode 5 "Thursday Night" ·         The Guest List (theguestlistfilm.com) ·         41 (2007 film) - Wikipedia   Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

Three years ago, when I started thinking about making a podcast about insurance and history, I had only one topic in mind: slavery. It took three years of reading and researching before I was ready to share it with you, but this episode represents part one of a three-part series about insurance and slavery—an overview of the Atlantic Slave trade and how insurance contributed to and supported that trade. It's a tough topic, but an important one, for insurance professionals and history buffs alike. This is a story about how capitalism developed in Europe and the Americas, about colonialism, the cost of labor, transcontinental marine shipping of kidnapped human beings, and how insurance supported all these things. And how underwriters decide what to insure, and how to insure it. Selected Sources and Links: Lloyd's, marine insurance and slavery - Lloyd's (lloyds.com) Sources with Paywall: Inherent Vice: Marine Insurance, slave ship rebellion and the law, Anita Rupprecht, Race and Class, 2016, Volume 57 p 31-44 Measuring the unmeasured hazards of the Atlantic slave trade: documents relating to the British trade, Joseph E. Inikori, Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer, tome 83, n°312, 3e trimestre 1996. pp. 53-92. Slavery, Insurance and the Law, Michael Lobban, The Journal of Legal History, 2007, Vol 28, p 319-328 The Zong in the Context of the 18th Century Slave Trade, Jane Webster, The Journal of Legal History, Vol. 28, No. 3, December 2007, pp. 285–298 Commercial Risk and Capital Formation in Early America: Virginia Merchants and the Rise of American Marine Insurance, 1750-1815 Author(s): A. Glenn Crothers Source: The Business History Review, Winter, 2004, Vol. 78, No. 4 (Winter, 2004), pp. 607-633 Dead or Alive: Racial Finance and the Corpse-Value of the African American Slave Body, Bride A. , J Hist Sociol. 2020;33:99–115. Insuring the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Pearson, R., & Richardson, D., The Journal of Economic History, 79(2), 417-446   Books: Capitalism & Slavery: Williams, Eric, Palmer, Colin A., Darity, William A., Jr.: 9781469663685: Amazon.com: Books The SLAVE TRADE: THE STORY OF THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE: 1440 - 1870: Thomas, Hugh: 9780684835655: Amazon.com: Books Amazon.com: Over the Edge of the World Updated Edition: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe: 9780062890481: Bergreen, Laurence: Books Freedom's Debt: The Royal African Company and the Politics of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1672-1752 (Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early ... and the University of North Carolina Press): Pettigrew, William A.: 9781469629858: Amazon.com: Books Specters of the Atlantic: Finance Capital, Slavery, and the Philosophy of History: Baucom, Ian: 9780822335962: Amazon.com: Books The Slave Ship: A Human History: Rediker, Marcus: 9780143114253: Amazon.com: Books Encyclopedia of the Middle Passage: Greenwood Milestones in African American History: Falola, Toyin, Falola, Toyin, Warnock, Amanda B., Warnock, Amanda B.: 9780313334801: Amazon.com: Books A history of Lloyd's from the founding of Lloyd's coffee house to the present day : Wright, Charles : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Armstrong, T. "Slavery Insurance and Sacrifice in the Black Atlantic." In Sea Changes: Historicising the Ocean, edited by Bernard Klein and Gesa Mackenthun. New York/London: Routledge, 2004. Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

For the first episode of Season 3, I'm talking about Enron and the company's spectacular rise and even more spectacular fall. It's a story about how creativity can sometimes mean stupidity, how culture impacts a company's survival, how hiring decisions matter, how ideas mutate, and how companies that put stock price and profits above all else can easily be the architects of their own demise. And--how blind people can be about a lot of things if what they are doing is making money. Who was responsible for Enron? What were the major causes of its bankruptcy? Who spoke up, and who listened (or didn't?) And what insurance responds when half of your executives are being criminally charged, and the shareholders and creditors are suing everyone they can think of? Join me to find out! Selected Sources and Links: 1.       Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) - IMDb 2.       Guest Post: D&O What to Know: A Guide to the Evolution of Directors and Officers Insurance from 1933 to the Present | The D&O Diary (dandodiary.com) 3.       https://nypost.com/2001/12/13/oh-boies-this-is-bad-ex-enron-cfo-hires-top-defense-lawyer/ 4.       The defendants of the Enron era and their cases (chron.com) 5.       Enron Executives: What Happened, and Where Are They Now? (investopedia.com) 6.       SKILLING v. UNITED STATES (cornell.edu) 7.       ARTHUR ANDERSEN LLP V. UNITED STATES (cornell.edu) 8.       Enron: Annual Reports (enroncorp.com) 9.       Enron: The Good, The Bad, The Lessons, Lori Zulaf, Peter Grierson, International Business & Economics Research Journal, Volume 1, Number 11 10.   Enron: A Financial Reporting Failure, Anthony H. Catanach Jr. & Shelley Rhoades-Catanach, Vol 48, Villanova Law Review, 2003 11.   The Other Enron Story, Toni Mack, Forbes, October 14, 2002 12.   Is Enron Overpriced? Bethany McLean, Fortune, March 5, 2001 13.   Monster Mess, Bethany McLean, Fortune, February 4, 2002 14.   Hidden Risks, Toni Mack, Forbes, May 24, 1993 15.   Why Enron Went Bust, Bethany McLean, Fortune, December 24, 2001 Sources with Paywall: 1.       Timeline: A chronology of Enron Corp. - The New York Times (nytimes.com) 2.       Disgraced Ex-Enron CFO warns D&O insurers on fraud risk (insuranceinsider.com) Books: 1.       The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron: McLean, Bethany, Elkind, Peter, Nocera, Joe: 9781591846604: Amazon.com: Books 2.       Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story: Eichenwald, Kurt: 9780767911795: Amazon.com: Books 3.       The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives: Eisinger, Jesse: 9781501121371: Amazon.com: Books 4.       Power Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron: Swartz, Mimi, Watkins, Sherron: 9780767913683: Amazon.com: Books 5.       Ensuring Corporate Misconduct: How Liability Insurance Undermines Shareholder Litigation: Baker, Tom, Griffith, Sean J.: 9780226035154: Amazon.com: Books 6.       A Financial History of Modern U.S. Corporate Scandals: From Enron to Reform: Markham, Jerry W: 9780765615831: Amazon.com: Books Music Credits: ·         Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

How can insurance save a company from bankruptcy? How does litigation funding work? Why did a lawsuit about a famous wrestler's sex tape become a warning to journalists everywhere about the power of Silicon Valley? Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I talk about a case called Bollea v Gawker, which involved Hulk Hogan's sex tape, and Gawker, one of the first big online news organizations. It also involved tech mogul Peter Theil and a vendetta that resulted in Gawker's demise. This is the story of how insurance could have saved Gawker, but didn't—and the very real issues brought up by the trial, namely, the issue of litigation funding, bad deposition preparation, hubris, the rising power of Silicon Valley, and how much privacy public figures are entitled to today. What's covered by insurance? Where did Gawker go wrong regarding insurance coverage? What does their bankruptcy mean for journalism today? Join me to find out! Selected Sources and Links: 1.       https://jacobin.com/2016/08/gawker-peter-thiel-bollea-torts-lawsuit/ 2.       https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/business/media/hulk-hogan-v-gawker-a-guide-to-the-trial-for-the-perplexed.html 3.       https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/might-an-anti-gawker-benefactor-be-covering-hulk-hogans-legal-bills/ 4.       https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/peter-thiel-vs-gawker-case-highlights-world-litigation-funding-n581726 5.       https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdrange/2018/01/05/five-things-i-learned-after-meeting-donald-trumps-new-lawyer/ 6.       https://www.newsweek.com/charles-harder-gawker-melania-trump-roger-ailes-people-magazine-509926 7.       https://www.salon.com/2023/03/27/what-does-peter-thiel-want-hes-building-the-right-wing-future-piece-by-piece/ 8.       https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/gawker-acquired-bustle-bryan-goldberg-1202871999/ 9.       https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/12/19/gawkers-demise-and-the-trump-era-threat-to-the-first-amendment 10.   https://finance.yahoo.com/news/thiel-founders-fund-withdrew-millions-005223787.html?guccounter=1 11.   https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/when-does-liability-coverage-exist-for-mental-anguish-without-bodily-injury 12.   "Hulk Hogan and the Demise of Gawker Media: wrestling with the problems of celebrity voyeurism, newsworthiness, and tabloidization, Andrew K Antoniou and Dimitris Akrivos, Journal of Media Law 2016, Volume 8, No. 2, 153-172 13.   "Eat Your Vitamins and Say Your Prayers: Bollea v Gawker, Revenge Litigation Funding, and the Fate of the Fourth Estate" Nicole K. Chipi, University of Miami Law Review, Vol 72: 269 14.   The Gawker Stalker, Jason Zengerle, GQ, Vol 86, Issue 12 15.   The Evolution of Mr. Theil, The Economist, Vol 419, Issue 8992 16.   Vigilante Justice: The Implications of Revenge Suits for Third-Party Litigation Funding, Ann-Marie Elvin, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Vol 30:719 17.   "Sex, Videos, and Insurance: How Gawker Could Have Avoided Financial Responsibility For the $140 Million Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Verdict" Christopher C. French, Southern California Law Review, 6.20.16 Sources with Paywall: 1.       https://www.law360.com/articles/562091/gawker-not-covered-for-hogan-sex-tape-row-insurer-says 2.       Bringing Down a Media Empire - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Books: 1.       Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue: Holiday, Ryan: 9780735217645: Amazon.com: Books 2.       Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral: Smith, Ben: 9780593299753: Amazon.com: Books Music Credits: ·       Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Twitter: @insurancevshist Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

Was King Hammurabi's Code the first written mention of insurance? How did insurance come to be, after all? And how does history change over time? Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I talk about King Hammurabi's Code, often considered to be the first legal code ever written and the first written mention of insurance. But is that really the case? Join me to find out! Selected Sources and Links: 1.       The Oldest Code of Laws in the World by King of Babylonia Hammurabi - Free Ebook (gutenberg.org) 2.       How the Ancient Code of Hammurabi Reveals a Society Both Similar and Alien to Ours | Discover Magazine 3.       Sea Loans at Ugarit, Jonathan Ziskind, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Jan-Mar 1974, Vol 94, No 1., pp 134-137 4.       The Ugartic Text 2106: 10-18: A Bottomry Loan? , Journal of the American Oriental Society, Oct-Dec, 1975, Vol 95, No 4., pp 612-619 5.       Bottomry Definition (investopedia.com) 6.       THE LOUVRE AND THE LAWGIVER - The Washington Post Books: 1.       Amazon.com: Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East: 9780190059040: Podany, Amanda H.: Books 2.       Amazon.com: King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography (Blackwell Ancient Lives): 9781405126595: Van De Mieroop, Marc: Books 3.       Amazon.com: A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC, 3rd Edition (Blackwell History of the Ancient World): 9781118718162: Van De Mieroop: Books 4.       Amazon.com: A History Of Ancient Near Eastern Law (Brill Reprints) (Handbook of Oriental Studies / Handbuch Der Orientalistik: Section One: The Near and Middle East): 9781628371796: Raymond Westbrook: Books 5.       Amazon.com: Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia: 9780195183641: Bertman, Stephen: Books 6.       The Origin and Early History of Insurance Including The Contract of Bottomry.: C.F. Trenerry, Ethel L. Gover, Agnes S. Paul: 9781584779322: Amazon.com: Books Music Credits: ·        Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com  Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Twitter: @insurancevshist Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

Insurance vs The Mystery of Helen Brach and Horse Insurance Fraud How did the disappearance of a candy heiress result in the discovery of an insurance fraud ring? And were people hiring someone to murder their horses? Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I tackle the true crime story of Helen Brach, and how the investigation into her disappearance revealed an organized insurance fraud ring involving expensive horses, changes in the US tax law, and terrible people. Fair warning: I use one swear word.  Selected Sources and Links: 1.       Blood Money - Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com 2.       Twenty Years Later: The Tax Reform Act of 1986 | Tax Foundation 3.       Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times: Various articles from 1977 forward; both papers covered the entire thing extensively   Books: 1.       Hot Blood (St. Martin's True Crime Library): Englade, Ken: 9780312957261: Amazon.com: Books Music Credits: ·        Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Twitter: @insurancevshist Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

How has the NRA impacted insurance? And why are insurers being asked to regulate the gun industry? Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I try and tackle the NRA's impact on the insurance industry, as well as discuss a new wrinkle in the discussion of gun safety: asking the insurance industry to take a regulatory role. Sources and Links: Note: This is only a selection. There was a LOT here, and I read a lot of stuff from "both sides of the aisle" so to speak. I tried to include articles with the most facts and not as many opinions or with more insurance explanations. The books were the best of what I read; the book by Adam Winkler was probably the most opinion neutral. Opposing Firearm Industry Immunity (americanbar.org) https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/06/17/gun-insurance-reform-uvalde-liability/ 4 Insurers, 5 Policies to Pay $73M Sandy Hook Settlement Against Gunmaker Remington (insurancejournal.com) A Guide to the Gun Industry's Unique Legal Protections (thetrace.org) The American Terror Industry | The New Republic Insurers Put Pressure on Gun Industry (washingtonpost.com) Any Weapon to Hand? An Essay on Gun Regulation and the Limits of Insurance (degruyter.com) San Jose gun owners must have liability insurance, city says; law is first in US to incentivize safety - The Washington Post Books: Suing the Gun Industry: A Battle at the Crossroads of Gun Control and Mass Torts (Law, Meaning, and Violence): Lytton, Timothy: 9780472115105: Amazon.com: Books Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America: Winkler, Adam: 9780393345834: Amazon.com: Books com: Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry That Radicalized America (Audible Audio Edition): Ryan Busse, Ryan Busse, PublicAffairs: Audible Books & Originals com: Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA (Audible Audio Edition): Tim Mak, Feodor Chin, Penguin Audio: Books Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Twitter: @insurancevshist Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

Is Double Indemnity the best insurance movie ever? Is double indemnity even a real thing? Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I discuss the movie Double Indemnity starring Fred McMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G Robinson, and the concept of double indemnity in the insurance industry. Sources and Links: Double Indemnity - Wikipedia 10 Fascinating Facts About Double Indemnity | Mental Floss Double Indemnity movie review (1944) | Roger Ebert Ruth Snyder - Wikipedia The 1927 Murder That Became a Media Circus—And a Famous Movie - HISTORY Thompson v. Prudential Ins. c. of America, 84 Ga. App. 214 | Casetext Search + Citator Limitation of Risk in Double Indemnity Clause, Columbia Law Review, Vol 31, No 8 (Dec 1931), pp. 1368-1369 Interpretation of "Accidental Means" in Double Indemnity Clause, Michigan Law Review, Vol 50, No 6 (April 1952), pp. 942-944 Books: Double Indemnity - Kindle edition by Cain, James M. . Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Movies: com: Double Indemnity : Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Jean Heather, Tom Powers, Byron Barr, Richard Gaines, Fortunio Bonanova, John Philliber, Billy Wilder, Joseph Sistrom, Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler, Loren L. Ryder: Movies & TV Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Twitter: @insurancevshist Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

Murder. Intrigue. And a financial product that bets on the death of people you don't know. Tontines! Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I dig into the rise and fall of the tontine, a unique life insurance product that includes a mortality lottery. How did a financial product build bridges and real estate, fund wars, and even contribute to the French revolution? I'm talking Kings, Insurance Barons, and estimating who would live longest. What could be more exciting? Sources and Links: Books: com: King William's Tontine: Why the Retirement Annuity of the Future Should Resemble its Past (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics (Hardcover)): 9781107076129: Milevsky, Moshe A.: Books Milevsky has a nice history of tontines in here, and then a discussion of the math and how he thinks a tontine could work. If you're an actuary, you probably will understand the math, but laypeople likely will not. com: The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity eBook : Gratton, Lynda, Scott, Andrew J.: Kindle Store The book that prompted the interest in tontines in Japan. 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 Articles: Japan's Aging Population Breathes New Life Into a Centuries-Old Investment Idea - WSJ (behind a paywall, sorry) The Tontine Principle - Historic UK (historic-uk.com) Short overview of using tontines for smaller public works projects or private projects Tontine Thinking - The Actuary Magazine Article by Moshe Milevsky if you don't want to read the book It's sleazy, it's totally illegal, and yet it could become the future of retirement - The Washington Post Well, I wouldn't go exactly that far, but okay, Washington Post, hit that clickbait. The Tontine Coffee House (narratively.com) Alexander Hamilton's Tontine Proposal on JSTOR by Robert M. Jennings, Donald F. Swanson and Andrew P. Trout Tontine Insurance and the Armstrong Investigation: A Case of Stifled Innovation, 1868-1905 on JSTOR by Roger L. Ransom and Richard Sutch Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Twitter: @insurancevshist Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook  

When a secretive industry meets an ambitious attorney general, what happens next? Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In this episode, I discuss Eliot Spitzer's attempt to reform the insurance industry: specifically, the 2004 investigation into the big three insurance brokers and contingent commissions.   Sources and Links: Inside Eliot Spitzer's Insurance-Industry Probe - Nymag Written in late 2004. A good overview. New York Opens Inquiry Into Insurance Brokerage Business - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Hat Trick: A 3rd Unit Of Marsh Under Fire - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Insurance Broker's Cozy Ties May Prove Hard to Untangle - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Beyond Disclosure: The Case for Banning Contingent Commissions 25 Yale Law & Policy Review 2006-2007 (heinonline.org) The Small Laws: Eliot Spitzer and the Way to Insurance Market Reform 74 Fordham Law Review 2005-2006 (heinonline.org) Books: com: Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (Audible Audio Edition): Peter Elkind, Arthur Morey, Tantor Audio: Audible Books & Originals This is a more general book that covers his entire life up until about 2010 and goes into a lot of detail about the sex scandal. The author did sit down with Spitzer and there is a documentary based on the book as well (Client 9). There is not very much about the insurance investigation but it's a good overview of his life. Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer: Masters, Brooke A.: 9780805079616: Amazon.com: Books This book was written before he became governor, and is an excellent breakdown of the investigations he launched when he was Attorney General, including the insurance investigation. Music Credits: Boulangerie by Jeremy Sherman, courtesy of NeoSounds: Boulangerie, LynneMusic | NeoSounds music library Contact Me: insurancevshistory@gmail.com Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Twitter: @insurancevshist Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook

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. Website: https://insurancevshistory.libsyn.com Contact me!  Twitter: @insurancevshist Instagram: @ insurancevshistory Facebook:  Insurance vs History | Facebook Email: insurancevshistory@gmail.com   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