The Lusitania Disaster, Alfred Hopkins,  and Insurance Regulation, and the Mixed Claim Commission—Part XI.D

Michael Sean Quinn


In this part the case of Alfred Lloyd Hopkins (“Hopkins”) is revisited. Hopkins had ordinary life insurance; it did not include a war risk exclusion and paid its $10,000 limits promptly. However, he had bought a special accident policy, and it did not pay because it was subject to a war risk exclusion inserted by endorsement at the time of purchase. There was litigation about the legality putting the rider on the policy, but the insurance company prevailed. A new endorsement of that sort was not forbidden by state law.

The Commission’s discussion of the case need not all be repeated here, but at lease on level, it is striking different than its discussion of the Vanderbilt case (Part XI.B) and the Fowles case (Part XI.C). It is easily findable on the internet as Mixed Claims Commission Docket #4.

Hopkins was a trained engineer. He had worked in ship building for many years, had eventually become president of the company, and had risen to a salary of $25,000.00 a year by the time of the time the Lusitania was sunk. His salary was used to support his family.

Hopkins was a healthy man of 44 years when he was killed. His wife of 9 years was 41 when she was widowed. “He left his widow and [their] young daughter without any source of income for their maintenance save the widow’s personal exertions and the generosity of the members of her family, who were not, without personal sacrifice, financially able to support them.” (It was apparently irrelevant that Ms. Hopkins had remarried in 1920, or so.)

The Commission awarded the $50,000.00 and the daughter $80,000.00, “both sums to bear interest at the rate of five percent per annum from November 1, 1923.”
One might wish to keep in mind that as of 1915 $25,000.00 would equal $588,626.24 in 2015 dollars, that $50,00000 in 1923 dollars would be worth $695,336.26 in 2015, that that $80,000.00 in 1923 dollars would equal $1,112,538.01 in 2015 dollars, according to US Inflation Calculator. (There are risk adjustment factors built into Ms. Hopkins award. Her remarriage and risks of divorce?  Her age? And what else? Her being a woman and not a child maybe?)



Michael Sean Quinn, Ph.D., J.D., C.P.C.U. . . .
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