Guide to the Royal Indemnity Company Records of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
1892-1987
(bulk 1901-1911)
Finding aid prepared by Kelly Sundin; revised and encoded by Wendy Kramer
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102-4733
415-557-4567
info@sfpl.org
2009
Title: Royal Indemnity Company records of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire
Date (inclusive): 1890-1987
Date (bulk): (bulk 1901-1911)
Collection Identifier: SFH 16
Creator:
Royal & SunAlliance. Royal Indemnity Company.
Physical Description:
1.0 carton, 2 flat boxes
(3.25 cubic feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: Records from three insurance companies--London & Liverpool & Globe, Royal, and Queen Insurance Companies-- that did business
during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire and eventually merged. Includes operational documents; technical, scientific,
financial, and personal reports about the disaster; a scrapbook; publications; and photographs.
Physical Location: The collection is housed onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English.
Access
The collection is open for research, with photographs available during Photo Desk hours. Please call the San Francisco History
Center for hours and information at 415-557-4567.
Publication rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Royal Indemnity Company Records of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire (SFH 16), San Francisco
History Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Acquisition Information
The Royal Indemnity Company Records of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire were transferred to the San Francisco Public
Library from the Royal Indemnity Company in 2006.
Processed by
Kelly Sundin, March 27, 2007. Revised by Wendy Kramer in 2009.
During processing, the entire collection was re-foldered and re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes. Some metal staples
remain. Other documents on acidic paper were kept in their original state and separated with acid-free paper. The scrapbook
was housed in an acid-free box.
Separated Materials
Photographs and negatives are housed with the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection. Also, many images are available
online.
Also removed and cataloged separately are two publications: the
San Francisco Temporary Telephone Directory, May 12, 1906 (with a May 26, 1906 Supplement), and
Wisdom for the Wise, a book of proverbs written by Lorenzo Sosso, illustrated with various pictures of San Francisco destruction after the earthquake
and fire.
Related Materials
Researchers are encouraged to see also the San Francisco History Center’s vertical files, reference cards, and small manuscripts
collections on the 1906 earthquake and fire; as well as biographical files and cards for individuals. Researchers should also
check the catalog holdings of the San Francisco Public Library for related materials.
Company History
The Royal Indemnity Company is a subsidiary of Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Group plc (RSA), which is one of the largest
insurance companies based in the United Kingdom.
RSA did business in San Francisco as several companies that would subsequently merge or be acquired into the present RSA Group,
of which the most important for this collection are the London & Liverpool & Globe Insurance Company, the associated Royal
and Queen Insurance Companies and the London & Lancashire Fire Insurance Company of Liverpool (L&L).
The Liverpool & London Insurance Company began United States operations in 1848, and opened San Francisco offices in 1853,
making them the first foreign insurers to serve California. An 1864 merger with the Globe Insurance Company formed the Liverpool
& London & Globe Insurance Company (LLG).
The Royal Insurance Company (Royal) began U.S. operations in 1851, and in 1891 the Queen Insurance Company of Liverpool merged
with Royal, and the newly organized Queen Insurance Company of America did business as a separate, but associated, company
in the United States.
The combined interests of these four companies would make the future RSA a major underwriter in the West from their establishment
through the turn of the 20th century, and specifically at the time of the 1906 earthquake and fire.
The San Francisco earthquake and fire stands as one of the most significant natural disasters in United States history, but
is also incredibly important in insurance history. After the disaster, many insurance companies could or would not pay claims
in full for a variety of reasons-– many companies suffered grave local losses themselves, some were financially unprepared
to cover the policies they had written, and still others engaged in unethical business practices.
This collection has a special focus in documenting the practices of insurance companies after the disaster, and specifically
highlights the fair practices of LLG, Royal and Queen, who were lauded by the media and their industry as three of only five
insurance companies that always paid their adjusted insurance claims in full, without discount.
In 1919 Royal acquired LLG and formed the Royal-Globe Insurance Companies, and in 1961 Royal-Globe acquired L&L, two of many
mergers resulting in various name changes until the present day. As this collection focuses primarily on the 1906 earthquake
and its effects on the insurance industry, the subsequent history of RSA will not be discussed.
Other companies (former and current RSA affiliates and subsidiaries, as well as unaffiliated non-RSA companies) of note in
these records include: Newark Mutual Fire Assurance Company, Capital Fire Insurance Company, American & Foreign Insurance
Company, Safeguard Insurance Company, Globe Indemnity Company, and Royal Life Insurance Company.
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the insurance history of the 1906 earthquake and fire, though it is a small and incomplete collection
focusing primarily on the experience of only three companies doing business at the time: the London & Liverpool & Globe Insurance
Company, and the associated Royal and Queen Insurance Companies.
The collection includes some of the relevant operational documents of the companies (correspondence, ledgers pertaining to
claims, minutes, rebuilding of company offices); various technical, scientific, financial, and personal reports about the
disaster; a large scrapbook of newspaper articles, mostly from 1906-1908, pertaining to insurance practices (and public reactions
and financial and legal repercussions thereof); sundry historical publications about the companies; as well as various publications
and documents of interest to (or about) the manager of the Royal and Queen Insurance Companies, Rolla V. Watt.
Particularly interesting are the graphic representations of the rebuilt Royal Insurance Company building at 201 Sansome Street,
including internal and external photographs depicting before, during and after construction images; an advertising brochure
for tenants; and a vanity publication showcasing the reconstructed building.
The collection also provides a fascinating practical insight into the cultural and psychological context of post-1906 San
Francisco-– determined optimism and an effort toward order during a period rife with desperation and chaos. This is an intimate
view into the heart of a business that is not allowed to falter even under the most extreme conditions.
Arrangement
Organized into six series: Series 1: Operational documents; Series 2: Correspondence; Series 3: Reports; Series 4: Publications;
Series 5: Scrapbook; Series 6: Photographs. Series are arranged chronologically, unless otherwise noted in the finding aid.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company. -- Archives
Queen Insurance Company of America. -- Archives
Royal & SunAlliance. Royal Indemnity Company. -- Archives
Royal Insurance Company Building (San Francisco, Calif.)
Royal Insurance Company. -- Archives
Earthquake insurance--California--San Francisco.
Insurance companies, British--California--San Francisco.
San Francisco (Calif.)--Earthquake and fire, 1906.
Box 1
Series 1
Operational documents,
1890-1927
Physical Description:
5.0 folders
Scope and Contents note
This series contains legal documents referring to the transfer of policies by re-insurers from Anglo-Nevada Assurance Corporation
to the London & Lancashire Fire Assurance Company of Liverpool, England (October 1890); the minutes for the Liverpool & London
& Globe Insurance Company (29 October 1901-24 February 1914); a ledger of the New-York Inter-Reinsurance detailing business
done in San Francisco (February 1902-December 1909); the office manual for the Royal Insurance Company and affiliated companies
(1923); and miscellaneous financial documents [1906?]-1927.
Folder 1
London & Lancashire Policy Transfer,
1890
Folder 2
Liverpool & London & Globe Minutes,
1901-1914
Folder 3
Liverpool & London & Globe New York Inter-Reinsurance Ledger,
1902-1909
Folder 4
Royal Insurance Company Office Manual,
Folder 5
Miscellaneous Financial Documents,
[1906]-1927
Box 1
Series 2
Correspondence,
1905-1909
Physical Description:
4.0 folders
Scope and Contents note
This series contains the bound, outgoing correspondence of the San Francisco office of the Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance
Company to the home office in Liverpool (5 January 1905-28 September 1909); outgoing correspondence from Royal and Queen Insurance
Companies to the various agents of the company (1906); outgoing correspondence from Royal and Queen Insurance Companies to
the policyholders of the company (1906); and incoming correspondence to the Royal Insurance Company from satisfied policyholders
(1906).
Folder 6
Liverpool & London & Globe Outgoing Correspondence,
1905-1909
Folder 7
Royal and Queen Outgoing Correspondence to Agents,
1906
Folder 8
Royal and Queen Outgoing Correspondence to Policyholders,
1906
Folder 9
Royal and Queen Incoming Correspondence,
1906
Box 1
Series 3
Reports,
1906-1924
Physical Description:
4.0 folders
Scope and Contents note
This series includes meeting minutes, statements and reports produced by various committees and subcommittees formed by insurance
companies to respond to the earthquake and conflagration. Where supporting legal or scientific documents exist, they follow
the committee report or minutes.
Particularly interesting is “Mr. Warner’s Report on San Francisco,” a 51-page unpublished, typewritten manuscript written
in 1924 by an agent of an insurance company, reporting the state of San Francisco after reconstruction, the company’s aggregation
of liability, and the risk of another conflagration. Mr. Warner details the infrastructural improvements of the city, including
the changes in the city’s water supply and the new fire protection systems. Also included are descriptions of the climate,
topography, and architecture of San Francisco, as well as some characterization (sometimes including culture) of each neighborhood.
Folder 10
Committee Minutes and Reports (and Supporting Documents),
1906-1907
Folder 11
Report of the Committee of Five to the “Thirty-Five Companies” on the San Francisco Conflagration,
1906
Folder 12
The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of April 18, 1906 and Their Effects on Structures and Structural Materials,
1907
Folder 13
“Mr. Warner’s Report on San Francisco, ”
1924
Box 1
Series 4
Publications,
1892-1987
Physical Description:
7.0 folders
Scope and Contents note
This series contains publications about RSA companies, the reconstruction of the Royal Insurance building, and advertisements
published by the various RSA companies. It also contains other publications, personal and corporate, having to do with the
insurance industry in general.
Folder 14
Subseries 1
RSA Company publications,
1906-1987
Physical Description:
1.0 folder
Scope and Contents note
This folder contains RSA Publications about RSA Companies. Included are:
San Francisco Earthquake and Fire 18-20th April 1906: Facts and Figures, a booklet by London & Lancashire Fire Insurance Company;
75 Royal Years and Growing with the City by the Bay, two Royal company histories; and
Thunder Underground!: The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906, a publication by the Royal Group commemorating the 75th anniversary of the disaster. Also included is an issue of
Red Shield News, the Royal Insurance newsletter, which includes an article about the Far West offices and describes the 1906 events.
Subseries 2
Royal Insurance Company Building,
1909-1987
Physical Description:
2.0 folders
Scope and Contents note
These folders contain publications about the Royal Insurance Company building, including information about the damage, reconstruction
and eventual sale of the building. Included are an advertisement and a brochure for prospective tenants, a photocopied newspaper
clipping, and two copies of
The Royal Insurance Company’s Building in San Francisco, a vanity publication about the reconstructed building.
Folder 15
Royal Insurance Company Building Tenancy Information,
1909-1987
Folder 16
The Royal Insurance Company’s Building in San Francisco
Note:
3 copies, 1 removed, added to book collection, and cataloged separately.
Folder 17
Subseries 3
Advertisements,
1906-1911
Physical Description:
1.0 folder
Scope and Contents note
These folders contain handbills and reprints of newspaper advertisements for Queen and Royal, and a few combined advertisements
for Royal and Queen. One photo postcard is also included.
Subseries 4
General insurance industry,
1892-1956
Physical Description:
3.0 folders
Scope and Contents note
These folders contain publications about the insurance industry. Included is the 1892 Holiday Supplement of
The Weekly Underwriter, which focuses on California, especially San Francisco, and the insurance companies doing business therein. Agents for Liverpool
& London & Globe (Charles D. Haven) and Royal and Queen (Rolla V. Watt) are pictured. Also included is a reprint of an article
from
Underwriter’s Report announcing H.R Burke’s succession of Rolla V. Watt as Manager of Royal and Queen.
Folder 18
The Weekly Underwriter: California and the Pacific Coast: Holiday Supplement,
1892
Folder 19
The Coast Review, 51(1)- 52(6)
1897
Folder 20
Miscellaneous Insurance Industry Publications
1910-1956
Box 2
Series 5
Scrapbook,
1906-1956
(bulk 1906-1908)
Physical Description:
1.0 vol.
1 scrapbook in box.
Scope and Contents note
This scrapbook is comprised primarily of newspaper clippings from a variety of publications about the 1906 earthquake and
fire, but with a particular interest in the actions of and attitudes about insurance companies in the two years that follow.
Near the end there is a gallery of editorial cartoons and clippings depicting reconstruction efforts and reconstructed buildings.
Also included are various ephemeral items: the May 1906 emergency edition of Sunset magazine; insurance industry event programs
and menus; an August 1907 map of San Francisco delineating the burned area, fire risk areas, and the proposed auxiliary fire
system; and two photographs. Please handle with care – many items have become loose and are in a brittle, fragile condition.
Title on item:
Scraps: San Francisco Conflagration 1906 and Other Items
Box 3
Series 6
Photographs,
[1856]-1979
Physical Description:
1.0 Box
Scope and Contents note
This series primarily contains photographs of the various buildings owned and used by the RSA companies. Some of the internal
images were used in the publications
Growing with the City by the Bay and
The Royal Insurance Company’s Building in San Francisco, located in Series 4 within the Royal Insurance Company Building, 1909-1987 section.
Also included are miscellaneous photographs of San Francisco before and after the 1906 earthquake and fire, photographs of
insurance industry events, internal and external photographs of various insurance company offices and buildings, and unidentified
damaged buildings. All photographs were transferred to the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection. The Series includes
photographs by: American View Co., M. Behrman, Cardinell-Vincent Co., T.E. Hecht, Geo. H. Knight, Gabriel Moulin, Antonia
Harris Roby, W.J. Street, Strohmeyer Photographs, and Chas. Weidner.
Folder 1
San Francisco,
[1856-1870]
Folder 2
RSA Buildings & Offices,
[1868-1909]
Folder 3
RSA Buildings & Offices (color),
1979
Folder 4
Insurance Industry Events,
[1896-1950]
Folder 5
Miscellaneous Insurance Buildings & Offices,
[1868-1870]
Folder 6
Damaged Buildings,
undated
