House Joint Resolution 9 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION BY FORD and B. HANSEN Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays Approved HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1 A Joint Resolution directing the commissioner of insurance to 2 solicit slaveholder insurance policy records from the archives 3 of Iowa=licensed insurance companies. 4 WHEREAS, it is estimated that eight million men and women were 5 enslaved in what is now the United States of America during the 6 period from 1619 to 1865, and as many as thirty=five million 7 American citizens are descended from those former slaves; and 8 WHEREAS, in other jurisdictions where insurance companies have 9 searched their archives and those of predecessor firms, insurance 10 policy records from the slavery era have been discovered 11 documenting insurance coverage issued to slaveholders for damage 12 to or death of a slave; and 13 WHEREAS, the insurance documents often contain information of 14 historical and genealogical interest to historians and 15 descendants of slaves, including the names of insured 16 slaveholders and the names of slaves covered in the insurance 17 policies; and 18 WHEREAS, details contained in these insurance documents 19 regarding insurance premiums and terms and conditions of coverage 20 provide a unique historical insight into the economics of the 21 former slave economy; and 22 WHEREAS, while most insurers currently doing business in Iowa 23 were incorporated after the end of the slavery era, there may be 24 some insurance companies whose archives contain useful 25 information about slaveholder insurance policies issued by a 1 predecessor corporation; NOW THEREFORE, 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2410HH 80 4 dea/cf/24 PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. The commissioner of insurance is directed to 1 2 seek information from the archives of insurance companies 1 3 licensed to do business in this state, including subsidiaries 1 4 of international insurance corporations, regarding records of 1 5 any insurance policies issued by an insurance company or a 1 6 predecessor company during the slavery era providing coverage 1 7 to a slaveholder for damage to or death of a slave, including 1 8 the names of any such slaves and slaveholders contained in 1 9 those records. 1 10 Sec. 2. It is the intent of the general assembly to rely 1 11 on the voluntary cooperation and good example of insurers 1 12 licensed to do business in this state; therefore, the 1 13 commissioner of insurance shall seek the slaveholder insurance 1 14 policy information from such insurers by request. The 1 15 commissioner of insurance shall report the commissioner's 1 16 findings to the general assembly by December 1, 2004. 1 17 EXPLANATION 1 18 This joint resolution directs the commissioner of insurance 1 19 to seek information from insurance companies licensed to do 1 20 business in this state regarding slaveholder insurance 1 21 policies issued by an insurance company or a predecessor 1 22 company during the slavery era. Records of slaveholder 1 23 insurance policies, which may contain names of slaveholders 1 24 and slaves as well as details of insurance premiums, terms, 1 25 and conditions, are of interest to historians and descendants 1 26 of former slaves. The commissioner is to request that 1 27 insurance companies perform the records search voluntarily. 1 28 The commissioner is required to report the findings of this 1 29 search to the general assembly by December 1, 2004. 1 30 LSB 2410HH 80 1 31 dea/cf/24 1 32 1 33 1 34 1 35