This reproduction of Lloyd’s Coffee House was put on display in the ’28 Building for the 1951 Festival of Britain.
By Paul Miller, Trustee of The Insurance Museum
That year, a man named Eric Deeping attended a séance where a spirit communicated with him. It was a Frenchman from the 14th century who subsequently told him that he would be killed in a car accident on May 20th of that year. Mr. Deeping quickly insured himself at Lloyd’s for £25,000 in the event of accidental death on that day. The policy cost him £12, 10 shillings but thankfully, no claim was made.
When the four-year-old colt, Your Host, broke its right foreleg, it’s owner feared that the horse was suffering and recommended that it be destroyed. Underwriters were unsure, wanted it to live, and sought the advice of veterinary experts in America. They were told that there was a chance Your Host could be cured. With the owner’s consent, the insuring syndicates paid the $90,000 full death insured sum, kept it alive and put it to stud. Stud fees were set against the claim, one of the largest paid at the time for a racehorse.
Also in 1951, the Lloyd’s Dramatic, Operatic and Musical Society toured with Kiss me Kate; a show that first appeared on Broadway with a production starring Hollywood actress Patricia Morison. Paramount Studios had previously taken out a policy at Lloyd’s in 1940 to raise publicity of her movie, Untamed. It had occurred to producers that: “an untamed woman might conceivably find a husband” and so, they applied for “Love Insurance” that would have paid Ms. Morison up to £6,500 a week if she were prevented from “pursuing her profession due to matrimonial entanglements.”
The original West End production of Kiss me Kate opened in 1951 and starred Adelaide Hall alongside Patricia Morison. In 1928, Ms. Hall starred in the Blackbird Revue; the most successful all-black show to have been staged on Broadway. Its producer, Lew Leslie, was concerned about the possibility of race violence; said to be connected with a growing controversy that had developed around Ms. Hall’s risqué performance. He subsequently took out insurance in case any of the cast were “attacked and injured by protesters”.
Also appearing in the Revue was pianist, DeLloyd McKaye, who’s fingers were covered for $50,000. Her policy stipulated that she would not be allowed to do her own housework. It also, rather strangely, dictated that she could not marry.
A man who didn’t have much luck at Lloyd’s that year was insurance agent Cliff John. He was a keen golfer and for years carried his “hole in one” policy in his golf bag. It would cover his expenses at the 19th hole if he holed in one on his local course in Illinois. When he saw his drive sink on the seventh green, he reached for the policy — only to find it had expired a few days before.
