A History of the Insurance Company of North America was written in 1885.The book has a copy of a 1794 marine insurance policy with standard language containing an insurance clause:1 Bob Norton of the Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association (IAUA) had a slide in his educational presentation.He was kind enough to provide the source material to show that this policy and a standard appraisal clause.

This demonstrates that the concept of non-judicial dispute resolution has long been a part of standard insurance policies.While we can guess why the drafters of the policy placed these clauses in the policies, I am still looking for that source material as well.Thought For The Day Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.—H.

Jackson Brown, Jr.__________________________________1 The long s, which resembles an ‘f’ but without the crossbar, was used up until the 18th century to distinguish between a hard ‘s’ and soft ‘s’.This is the wording of the appraisal clause without the long s:And it is agreed, that if any Dispute shall arise relating to the Loss on this Policy, it shall be referred to two indifferent Persons, one to chosen by the a Assured, the other by the Assurer or Assurers, who shall have full Power to adjust the same; but in case they cannot agree, then such two Persons shall chose a third; and any Two of them agreeing, shall be obligatory to both Parties.