The sinking of the Titanic
Categories
Catastrophes
Risk
Swiss Re
Time
14.4.1912
Countries
United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates
In 1907, the insurance press warned of the risks associated with the "increasing number of giant steamships being built." Articles called attention to the high number of passengers – "no fewer than 4,000" –, ship speed, and accumulation risks. However, most of the warnings were ignored. Progress was the order of the day and optimists pointed to the fact that in the past ten years only nine passengers had lost their lives on British ships.
In 1911, the still-unfinished Titanic was insured. The British White Star Line desperately wanted to take the lead on the North Atlantic route with the three sister ships Olympic, Titanic, and Gigantic: their names said it all. The Titanic had the biggest dining room ever built on a ship and the foyer extended over six decks. According to The Shipbuilder magazine, the vessel, with its 16 watertight compartments whose bulkheads closed at the press of a button, was "practically unsinkable." With complete confidence in the technology, the owners insured the Titanic for only half its value and at the unprecedentedly low rate of three-quarters of one per cent.
On 14 April 1912, on its maiden voyage, this masterpiece of engineering collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank within two and a half hours. The ship carried 1,500 people to their deaths in spite of transmitting the newly adopted SOS distress signal, used for the first time in the navigation history.
It was mainly British insurers that were affected by the disaster; insurance companies from other countries had taken a very cautious stance on account of the exceptionally low premiums. However, American life insurers also had to pay out several million dollars as some of the richest men in the US had been on board and perished. The disaster was a wake-up call for the optimists and the sinking of the Titanic became a symbol of man's vulnerability and the fragility of his works. Many insurers also became realists again: not long afterwards, the Olympic, the Titanic's sister ship, could only find cover at a premium of two per cent as it set off on an Atlantic crossing.
The sinking of the Titanic also affected Swiss Re, but only marginally, as it had only reinsured some small shares in the risk which had been accepted by Swiss insurance companies.
In 1911, the still-unfinished Titanic was insured. The British White Star Line desperately wanted to take the lead on the North Atlantic route with the three sister ships Olympic, Titanic, and Gigantic: their names said it all. The Titanic had the biggest dining room ever built on a ship and the foyer extended over six decks. According to The Shipbuilder magazine, the vessel, with its 16 watertight compartments whose bulkheads closed at the press of a button, was "practically unsinkable." With complete confidence in the technology, the owners insured the Titanic for only half its value and at the unprecedentedly low rate of three-quarters of one per cent.
On 14 April 1912, on its maiden voyage, this masterpiece of engineering collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank within two and a half hours. The ship carried 1,500 people to their deaths in spite of transmitting the newly adopted SOS distress signal, used for the first time in the navigation history.
It was mainly British insurers that were affected by the disaster; insurance companies from other countries had taken a very cautious stance on account of the exceptionally low premiums. However, American life insurers also had to pay out several million dollars as some of the richest men in the US had been on board and perished. The disaster was a wake-up call for the optimists and the sinking of the Titanic became a symbol of man's vulnerability and the fragility of his works. Many insurers also became realists again: not long afterwards, the Olympic, the Titanic's sister ship, could only find cover at a premium of two per cent as it set off on an Atlantic crossing.
The sinking of the Titanic also affected Swiss Re, but only marginally, as it had only reinsured some small shares in the risk which had been accepted by Swiss insurance companies.
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Categories
Catastrophes
Risk
Swiss Re
Time
14.4.1912
Countries
United Kingdom, United States
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