Dec 15, 2022

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...

Nov 15, 2022

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...

Oct 15, 2022

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....

Sep 14, 2022

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...

Jun 14, 2022

Insurance vs Larry Silverstein and the World Trade Center Collapse on 9.11  

What happens when a terrorist attack becomes a highly litigated claim?

Welcome to the Insurance vs History Podcast! In my sixth episode, I take a deep dive into the legal wrangling around the property policy covering the World Trade Center....