Titanic insurance document could fetch £50,000

The only known copy of an insurance ledger covering the hull of the RMS Titanic during its sea trials is to be sold at auction.

The policy provides $100,000 worth of insurance coverage to the steel hull under the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company, one of the ship's major insurers.

The binder was signed on 27 March 1912 - just 19 days before the ship sank during its maiden voyage to New York, claiming the lives of 1,500 people on board. The policy limits were paid within 30 days of the sinking.

It will go under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes in Wiltshire on 21 November, with an estimated sale price of £30,000 to £50,000.

Atlantic Mutual was founded in the US in 1838 and became the largest marine and general insurance firm in North America by the mid 19th Century.

Its client was the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, Titanic's parent company.

It is believed to have provided more coverage for the ill-fated ship than any other individual carrier within the insurance consortium.

The policy - which would be worth approximately $3.5m today - provided insurance coverage for a year, effective from 30 March 1912.

A handwritten addendum on the policy states: "To include the trip from Belfast to Southampton sailing on or after March 31, 1912 at 7:00 P.M. and the risk of trials on said trip, if any."

This note ensures the coverage also covered the ship's delivery to port, making it a rare record of the ship's protection before it ever carried passengers.

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The auctioneer's website states: "To our knowledge, it is without equal as we have been unable to locate any prior sale record of an original policy of insurance for Titanic herself, let alone with her major insurer."

Atlantic Mutual also played a significant role in claims relating to losses from the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.

Ultimately, the company's insurance licenses were revoked and the company was placed into liquidation in 2011.

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