Page 25 - Insurance Times September 2023

event occurred in the seas south-west of Jamaica at a period reparations in the form of financial support to organizations
when Jamaica was at its lowest ebb, during the American working to promote more economic opportunities for black
Revolution. people and other communities of color.

The reverberations from the Zong case also had a major Insurance was vital in facilitating the transatlantic slave
effect on the plantation economy of Jamaica, an island that trade. The majority of ships plying the infamous Middle
went, in half a century, from being the jewel in Britain's Passage between Africa and the Caribbean in the late 18th
imperial crown to an especially disgraceful part of Britain's century, when British involvement in slave trading was
empire in the aftermath of the Morant Bay killings in 1865. reaching its height, carried insurance, according to
No Jamaican was called to give witness in the case of the historians Robin Pearson and David Richardson of the
Zong. Jamaica, however, was crucial in the case. We cannot University of Hull, who coauthored an analysis of the
understand the decisions that were made in late November insurance policies some of these voyages carried.
and December on board the Zong without placing it in the
context of a Jamaican commercial and political world facing In 1794, the Slave Trade Act was amended to limit the way
severe disruption because of the turmoil of the American insurers could underwrite slave voyages, making the "perils
Revolution and accompanying natural disasters. of the sea" and other general phrases illegal. Finally, in 1807,
Parliament made it illegal for any British ship to carry slaves
Because this was an unusual time, it led to unusual slaving and for British insurers to underwrite slaving voyages.
voyages. What was most unusual about the Zong was not
that slavers threw Africans overboard to claim on insurance. The slave trade might have receded, but insurance frauds
That crime happened with regularity. It was an unusual have taken place in many different ways, and are still there
voyage because of the way that the ship was acquired as a are many cases pending to be voiced out.
prize and unusual because the crew on the ship needed to
be particularly attuned to some very specific commercial Given the fluctuations in shipping markets, particularly the
and political rhythms in Jamaica in 1781. Unusual cases dry bulk sector which now seems to be steadily improving,
seldom make for lasting legal precedents. In this case, one would expect incidents of scuttling and insurance fraud
however, it led to a lasting change in the relationship to have been on the increase in recent years.
between Britain's leading slave colony and the imperial
state. *I am thankful to Dr. S. Mukherjee, an Expert and
International Investigator for Maritime Fraud for his advice.
It wasn't until 50 years later that the Slavery Abolition Act
1833 abolished slavery in most British colonies, and the
Dr. Soumi Mukherjee completed her Graduation in Mass
League of Nations 1926 Slavery Convention sought global
prohibition of slavery and the slave trade. Media and Masters in Mass Media from University of
Mumbai, later completed her Ph.d. She is interested in
Investigative Journalism related with History, Geography,
One of the biggest firms of the insurance market Lloyd's of
Zoology etc. She is currently serving in Media Officer
London became one of the first British firms to issue a formal
apology for its involvement with slavery, offering to make with International Police Organization.

LIC acquires 6.66% stake in Jio Financial Services through demerger process

LIC said it has acquired 6.66 per cent stake in Jio Financial Services, the demerged non-banking financial services
unit of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group.
"… Corporation has acquired 6.660 per cent shareholding in 'Jio Financial Services Ltd' through demerger action by
'Reliance Industries Ltd'," LIC said in a regulatory filing. Jio Financial Services listed on the stock exchanges on August
21. The market capitalisation of the financial services company stood at close to Rs 1.60 lakh crore.

The LIC further said that the cost of acquisition of Jio Financial Services is 4.68 per cent of the pre-demerged cost of
Reliance Industries.

The Insurance Times September 2023 23