Documents show $5 million insurance coverage for the Titantic

Little did they know when this sheet of paper was signed off that the worst case scenario would come true just 15 days later. The original insurance certificate covering the ‘total loss’ of the Titanic for $5million (£3.1million) was revealed today, showing the cover was taken out two weeks before the ship sank in April 1912. And a handwritten amendment at the foot of the policy suggested the ship’s owners only insured the vessel for her sea trials and delivery journey from Belfast to Southampton as an afterthought. The trials were due to take place in March but were delayed, possibly because she was not insured. The Titanic’s parent company, the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, received the full insurance payout within 30 days of the disaster in the Atlantic Ocean that saw 1,512 lives lost.