One of the most widespread types of insurances in the world, car insurance is a legal requirement for car owners in almost every country on earth. Car insurance may cover not only all types of physical damage to any vehicles involved in an accident but also the medical expenses of any persons involved in an accident. It may also cover damage inflicted to property in any accident involving a vehicle.
Marine Insurance
The ancient Chinese were the first to come up with the idea of insuring a traveling unit. When the Americas were first being settled, Chinese merchants would often ship huge amounts of valuable merchandise across the Atlantic Ocean. These were dangerous trips with great risks involved and occasionally entire ships would disappear, either having sunk in a fierce storm or having been captured by pirates.
A group of Chinese entrepreneurs began offering insurance policies on ships undertaking these dangerous voyages. In return for a small fee, these entrepreneurs offered to take the risk off the merchants and put it on themselves. They would earn the small fee if nothing happened to the ship, but they would have to pay for any damages inflicted on the ship while under their insurance policy. This became known as marine insurance and is still in practice in many of today’s commercial ports.
The Evolution of Car Insurance
As the use of cars became more and more widespread, policymakers began to adapt the idea of marine insurance to land-based motor vehicles. The government soon decided that it was a risk as well as a privilege to operate one’s motor vehicle on public property. Laws were passed that legally required car owners to purchase car insurance both to protect themselves and others in case of an accident. The first state to mandate car insurance was Massachusetts who, in 1927, made insurance mandatory for all vehicles on their roads. Today, car insurance is mandatory in all 50 states.
The First Car Insurance Policies
The very insurance policy to be issued in the United States was in the early 1800s - nearly a hundred years before motorized vehicles became widespread. In 1895, a company owned by English investors issued the first policy with liability coverage included. Liability coverage was introduced to the United States three years later in 1898. Today, although every state has a different minimum amount of required obligations in their car insurance laws, liability coverage is mandatory in all 50.
Miles Walker is a freelance writer who normally writes feature articles for carinsurancecomparison.org. He recently wrote about California car insurance.
100 Mile an Hour Man
Charterhouse Auctioneers have been instructed to sell the highly important collection of photographs, trophies, Brooklands badges and ephemera belonging to the great late Claude F Temple, the motorcycle manufacturer, Brooklands racer and motorcycle speed world record holder. The collection is expected to sell for over £5,000 when it goes under the hammer.
“Rarely do such historically important motorcycle items appear on the open market, as the majority is held by museums, institutions or is in private collections.” Commented Matthew Whitney. “He was the first person to cover 100 miles in less than one hour on a motorcycle at Montlhery in 1924, when he covered 100 miles in 58 minutes and 50.6 seconds which is equivalent to 101.982 mph. Just a couple of years later, in 1926, he became the fastest man on two wheels when he took the world speed record on a motorcycle at 121.3 mph. This is a fantastic collection from a golden age of motorcycles, when men were men and health and safety had not been invented.”
This is the first time the collection has appeared on the open market. It comes direct from a close family friend who lives on the Isle of Man, home of the famous motorcycle races. The collection will be auctioned at the Footman James 32nd Bristol Classic Car Show on Sunday 17th April together with other interesting items of automobilia, motorcycles, vintage and classic cars, including a 1948 Bentley Mk VI Special, at £48,000 – 52,000 and a 1960 Jaguar Mk II 2.4 litre manual overdrive saloon, with only three owners all living within 10 miles of each other in Devon estimated at £10,000 -12,000. Perhaps more fittingly however, there is monster of a motorcycle in the form of a Suzuki GSX-R 1000. This has been extensively modified by Harris Racing as their show bike and demonstrator. Painted in Barry Sheene racing colours, this bike is capable of over 200 mph, and estimated at £7,500-9,000.
For more information regarding this auction or to consign a single item or a complete collection, please contact Matthew Whitney at our head office in Sherborne on 01935 812277 or via email mw@charterhouse-auctions.co.uk and please visit our website www.charterhouse-auctions.co.uk to view the regularly updated Classic Car preview pages.
Making history on a motorcycle – a group of photographs of Claude Temple from his own archive.Quick Links
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There are E Types and Our Types
Lot 183 A 1972 Jaguar E-Type Series III V12 coupé, £32,000 - 35,000
Lot 186 A 1933 Lagonda 16/80 four door pillar-less saloon, £28,000 - 32,000, also in the sale
One of the motor industries icon, a Jaguar E Type coupe, is included in the Charterhouse auction of classic cars on Sunday 13th February held at The Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet.
Please click on the logo to go to the Bristol Classic Car Show Events Web Site, where you will be able to buy tickets to the show and catalogues to gain entry to the auction
“We have sold many E Types over the years, but this one is a little more special than most, having covered just over 4,000 miles since new. It is a Somerset registered car, having been bought by a Commander at Yeovilton in 1972. I can only assume that the Commander served abroad for some time which could explain the lack of use of such an iconic motor car. “Commented Matthew Whitney”. When the Commander sold the car, it remained locally and the purchaser then passed the car onto his son. At this point, the car had about 3,000 miles put on it and was then laid up in a barn until the Charterhouse vendor went to buy a tractor but spotted the car and bought it instead!”
The car has subsequently undergone a total nut and bolt restoration, and a change in colour from maroon to metallic ice blue which is still a Jaguar colour. As the car has been dry stored for most of its life, it was very straight forward to dismantle the car, with only two bolts shearing in the process. The car was then rebuilt rather than restored even having a complete new cream leather interior. This E Type is now presented in a better than new condition and is so clean you could eat your dinner off it! Not unsurprisingly, the cost of parts alone came to over £27,000 and combined with 6 months of labour to be added on top, it is estimated at £32,000-35,000. This “new” E Type is ready to celebrate 50th anniversary of the E Type and will no doubt give the new owner miles of smiles.
Charterhouse is now accepting entries for their busy programme of auctions including classic cars and automobilia on Sunday 13th February followed by silver, jewellery and watches with a special section of wine port and spirits on Friday 25th February.
For advice or to arrange a free home visit, please contact Matthew Whitney, Head of the Charterhouse Classic Car Department or Sarah Parsons at Charterhouse, The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3BS, 01935 812277 or via email
mw@charterhouse-auctions.co.uk
| Forthcoming Sale Previous Sale Sale Preview | Tel: (01935) 812277 |
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