8 Insurance Claims that Changed History

The Great Fire of London sparked the need for fire insurance in one of the world’s largest cities, for example. The Titanic’s insurance claim, meanwhile, was paid within 30 days by Lloyd’s of London and changed the science of risk analysis.

Today, we’re highlighting some of the insurance claims that changed history – and no, your leaky toilet claim from 2021 didn’t make the list.

Great Fire of London (1666)

In 1666, London was the second-largest city in Europe (behind Paris) and one of the largest cities in the world. Then, a significant portion of London burned to the ground.

The Great Fire of London destroyed 13,000 homes in an era when nobody had homeowners insurance; it wasn’t a thing.

The catastrophe did, however, lead to the creation of the city’s first fire insurance company. That fire insurance company took a unique approach; it used private firefighters to protect homes throughout the city.

Before putting out a fire, the insurer’s firefighters would check for a metal plaque, or fire mark. If your building had one, then you were insured, and firefighters would put out the fire. If not, firefighters would watch your property burn. It’s not the worst marketing campaign.

Great Boston Fire (1760)

The Great Boston Fire of 1760 destroyed 350 buildings in the heart of the colonial capital. It was one of several devastating fires throughout the early history of Boston. Prior to 1760, the largest fire had been in 1711 – but the 1760 fire was larger than any (at least until the Great Boston Fire of 1872).

The blaze destroyed homes and businesses throughout the city. In the following months, the city received relief funds from across the British Empire to help rebuild.

The fire changed history because it changed building codes: to prevent a devastating fire in the future, the Massachusetts legislature passed laws to improve the city’s safety standards. Residents were unable to build large buildings out of wood, for example. The city laid new streets while rebuilding homes from brick or slate.

The Great Chicago Fire (1871)

The Great Chicago Fire was one of the most devastating fires in US history, killing 300 people, destroying 17,000 homes and businesses, and leaving 100,000 residents homeless.

The official cause of the blaze is unknown, but it’s certainly possible it started at the O’Leary family’s barn southwest of the city center (the family’s shed was the first building lost in the blaze).

Some blame it on a cow kicking over a lantern. Others blame it on a group of men playing poker in the barn and knocking over that same lantern. Some, surprisingly, even blame it on a meteor shower.

Causation aside, the Great Chicago Fire changed the history of insurance:

• 50 insurers went bankrupt after the fire. They were unprepared for a large-scale disaster of that magnitude, especially in an era when insurers tended to concentrate in a specific city or region.
• In the years following, many insurers practiced regional diversification. Wary of a single fire wiping out their customer base, insurers expanded across the United States to spread out risk.
• Fire underwriting laws were formalized, paving the way for the modern actuarial system and risk analysis that forms the backbone of modern insurance.
• Chicago, like Boston, also changed its zoning laws and building codes to reduce the risk of future fires.

San Francisco Earthquake & Fire (1906)

More than 100,000 San Francisco residents filed insurance claims after the 1906 earthquake and fire. The claims totaled around $400 million in damages. As with the Great Chicago Fire, the San Francisco earthquake and fire led to the bankruptcy of many insurers.

One insurer, Hamburg-Bremen Fire Insurance Company, famously denied many claims after the disaster. The company stayed solvent, but it ruined its reputation in the United States forever.

Today, we continue to feel the impacts of the 1906 disaster: it caused insurers to add exclusions for “acts of God” into policies, for example, and tighten policy language overall.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is best known for changing worker safety in early 20th-century America – but it also changed the insurance industry.

In 1911, 146 workers were killed in a factory fire in New York City. The blaze was preventable, and poor exit routes increased the death toll significantly.

The public blamed the owners of the factory for creating unsafe conditions. However, the public was particularly incensed when they discovered the owners collected $60,000 in insurance payouts (around $1.8 million USD today) – more than they paid to the victims’ families.

In other words, the owners made money from the fire and its insurance settlement. Public outcry over the discovery changed US labor laws, fire codes, worker safety, and risk analysis systems, all of which influence today’s insurance marketplace.

Sinking of the Titanic (1912)

Some claim the sinking of the Titanic was an insurance hoax entirely. Whatever the case, the RMS Titanic was one of the largest insurance claim payouts in history.

Legendary insurer Lloyd’s of London had issued a policy for the Titanic before its maiden voyage. The organization assessed the value of the ship at around £1 million (equivalent to around $130 million USD today).

Lloyd’s of London solidified its place in history by paying the £1 million policy in full within 30 days – something today’s insurers often struggle to do after basic burst pipe claims or windstorm claims.

Following the disaster, insurers changed the way they assessed risk. Regulators adjusted insurance disclosure rules, naval authorities changed the laws of maritime safety, and Lloyd’s of London secured its place in insurance history for a speedy payout.

9/11 Terrorist Attacks (2001)

Did the Twin Towers fall because of one covered event – or two?

That may seem like an odd question, but the answer impacted the final insurance claim payout.

The 9/11 attacks caused an estimated $40 billion in insured losses – from property damage insurance claims to business interruption claims to life insurance payouts.

The attacks led to the creation of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program under the Secretary of the Treasury. The federal program provided public and private compensation for insured losses linked to terrorism.

Many insurers also quietly added terrorism exclusions to policies after the 9/11 attacks. That exclusion continues to be relevant in 2025. Business owners in Palm Springs recently had their claims denied because the damage was caused by a terrorist attack, which is a non-covered peril.

Courts ultimately decided, by the way, that the World Trade Cetner disaster was one event, not two, which was a big win for the 20 insurers involved in the claim.

Hurricane Katrina (2005)

Hurricane Katrina was one of the costliest disasters in US history – and it changed the future of flood insurance.

The storm caused $82 billion in insured losses – and billions more in uninsured and underinsured damages.

Hurricane Katrina changed the insurance industry in multiple ways, including:

• Sparked a debate about wind versus water damage
• Led to reform of the reinsurance marketplace, which provides “insurance for insurers” in certain high-risk areas
• Created changes in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
• Showed homeowners the importance of flood insurance – and the dangers of carrying a homeowners insurance policy with flood exclusions in a flood-prone area

Honorable Mentions

From historical eras to specific events, countless things have changed the history of insurance.

Honorable mentions include:

• The Ford Pinto explosion lawsuits of the 1970s
• Regional mutual insurance companies on the American western frontier (1800s to 1900s)
• Witchcraft insurance in the 1600s to 1700s
• Insurance claims linked to war and looting from the Napoleonic Wars (1803 to 1815)
• Ben Franklin’s fire insurance venture in Colonial America (1752)

Your burst pipe insurance claim won’t change history. But it could change your financial future.

Find a Public Adjuster

Talk to a ClaimsMate public adjuster today for a free consultation, whatever the claim may be. We’ll explain how we help – and how we could change your history.

Stephanie Corona

Stephanie is a property insurance claim expert with over 20 years of experience working as an insurance adjuster, expert witness, appraiser and umpire. She is passionate about sharing her expertise, knowledge, tips and training to help both property owners and Public Adjusters in their pursuit of effectively managing claims and recovering the claim settlement they deserve after a loss.