Came across an interesting policy the other day that I would like to share with you. It was written in 1894 from a company that is now defunct; United States Mutual Accident Association. At the time the United States Mutual Accident Association was one of the largest travel insurers in the United States.
It’s a typical policy of the times. It provides:
$15./week of disability coverage if the traveler(males only, women were not covered) were disabled due to accidental bodily injury, and
$3,000 Accidental Death and Disability coverage if death or disability resulted from a covered accident.
Policies from that era usually had some interesting exclusions:
European travel was excluded;
Travel in uncivilized areas of the United States or Canada was excluded;
No coverage if the traveler was younger than 18 or older than 66;
dueling or fighting; and
voluntary exposure to unnecessary danger was also excluded.
Some of the earlier accident policies also excluded travel in a stage coach west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains or in the Indian territories.
All that coverage for only $ .25/ day. What a bargain.
Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since 1894!
