The wreck of the “Titanic” is in the memory of all of us, through history, through conversations, through films.
The tragedy of the famous ship, this giant “unsinkable” of the seas, collided with an iceberg, in its maiden voyage, from Southampton (England) to New York (USA), where 1,523 people died.
Considered an epic ship, splendor of the naval engineering technique, majestic and imposing, with a decoration inspired in a hotel that was in fashion, “the Ritz”, was 269 meters long and it was due to navigation error and human failure that, in that dawn of fog, the tragedy occurred, breaking in half and succumbing in the Atlantic at 3,800 meters deep.
On board were 4 Portuguese, 3 Madeiran farmers and a young merchant, born in Loulé, who embarked in England to emigrate to America.
The insurance of the Transatlantic and the enormous values that it transported were assured by several companies: English (namely Lloyd’s of London), French, German (Allianz), Japanese and American. The Titanic owner guaranteed the difference from USD 7.5 million to the USD 5 million guaranteed by the insurers.
It was widely reported that the high claims were fully paid, just 30 days after the shipwreck, reaching USD 2.9 billion.
Curiously, for the first time in the history of insurance, the value of a car that sank, brand Renault, was paid in the amount of 5000 dollars, by claim of the surviving passenger, William Carter.