House Resolution 29

PAG LIN

  1  1                HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.    
  1  2                   BY  FORD and HANSEN
  1  3 A Resolution urging the Commissioner of Insurance to
  1  4    solicit slaveholder insurance policy records from the
  1  5    archives of Iowa=licensed insurance companies.
  1  6    WHEREAS, it is estimated that 8 million men and
  1  7 women were enslaved in what is now the United States
  1  8 of America during the period from 1619 to 1865, and as
  1  9 many as 35 million American citizens are descended
  1 10 from those former slaves; and
  1 11    WHEREAS, in other jurisdictions where insurance
  1 12 companies have searched their archives and those of
  1 13 predecessor firms, insurance policy records from the
  1 14 slavery era have been discovered documenting insurance
  1 15 coverage issued to slaveholders for damage to or death
  1 16 of a slave; and
  1 17    WHEREAS, the insurance documents often contain
  1 18 information of historical and genealogical interest to
  1 19 historians and descendants of slaves, including the
  1 20 names of insured slaveholders and the names of slaves
  1 21 covered in the insurance policies; and
  1 22    WHEREAS, details contained in these insurance
  1 23 documents regarding insurance premiums and terms and
  1 24 conditions of coverage provide a unique historical
  1 25 insight into the economics of the former slave
  1 26 economy; and
  1 27    WHEREAS, while most insurers currently doing
  1 28 business in Iowa were incorporated after the end of
  1 29 the slavery era, there may be some insurance companies
  1 30 whose archives contain useful information about
  2  1 slaveholder insurance policies issued by a predecessor
  2  2 corporation; NOW THEREFORE,
  2  3    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  2  4 That the House of Representatives urges the
  2  5 Commissioner of Insurance to seek information from the
  2  6 archives of insurance companies licensed to do
  2  7 business in this state, including subsidiaries of
  2  8 international insurance corporations, regarding
  2  9 records of any insurance policies issued by an
  2 10 insurance company or a predecessor company during the
  2 11 slavery era providing coverage to a slaveholder for
  2 12 damage to or death of a slave, including the names of
  2 13 any such slaves and slaveholders contained in those
  2 14 records; and
  2 15    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That it is the intent of
  2 16 the House of Representatives to rely on the voluntary
  2 17 cooperation and good example of insurers licensed to
  2 18 do business in this state; therefore, the Commissioner
  2 19 of Insurance is asked to seek the slaveholder
  2 20 insurance policy information from such insurers by
  2 21 request; and
  2 22    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Commissioner of
  2 23 Insurance is requested to report the Commissioner's
  2 24 findings to the General Assembly by December 1, 2004;
  2 25 and
  2 26    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the
  2 27 House of Representatives shall forward a copy of this
  2 28 resolution to the Commissioner of Insurance.
  2 29 LSB 3236HH 80
  2 30 dea/cf/24