An Appraisal Clause From 1793

A History of the Insurance Company of North America was written in 1885. The book has a copy of a 1793 marine insurance policy with standard language containing an insurance clause:¹

Bob Norton of the Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association (IAUA) had a slide in his educational presentation. He was kind enough to provide the source material to show that this policy and a standard appraisal clause.

This demonstrates that the concept of non-judicial dispute resolution has long been a part of standard insurance policies. While we can guess why the drafters of the policy placed these clauses in the policies, I am still looking for that source material as well.

Thought For The Day

Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
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¹ The long s, which resembles an ‘f’ but without the crossbar, was used up until the 18th century to distinguish between a hard ‘s’ and soft ‘s’. This is the wording of the appraisal clause without the long s:
And it is agreed, that if any Dispute shall arise relating to the Loss on this Policy, it shall be referred to two indifferent Persons, one to chosen by the a Assured, the other by the Assurer or Assurers, who shall have full Power to adjust the same; but in case they cannot agree, then such two Persons shall chose a third; and any Two of them agreeing, shall be obligatory to both Parties.