EXCESS, SURPLUS LINES AND REINSURANCE
(ESLR)

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: REINSURANCE COMMENTATOR

Despite the overwhelming recognition afforded to William Shakespeare for his many sonnets, plays, and poems, Shakespeare's contributions to the nascent reinsurance industry of the early 17th century have largely been ignored. Shortly after he retired and left London in 1611, Shakespeare's writings reflect a great deal of contemplation over the nature of risk. After reading the following excerpt you may view Shakespeare's body of work in a whole new context. It may even leave you pondering whether it was the Bard who authored the sue and labor clause.

To cede, or not to cede; that is the question;
Whether 'tis better in the end to suffer
The casualties and claims of hazard and catastrophe
Or take precaution 'gainst their sea of troubles
And by reinsuring ease them? To cede: to brood
No more; and by the cession-say-reduce
The risk and all the thousand natural shocks
That follow on it, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To cede, be safe;
Be safe: perchance feel too secure-aye, there's the rub.
For in that snug security what ills may come
When we have told the tale of cost and profit with feeling envious.
There's the grudging of the premium lost with much profit for the
assumption.
For who could stand the inward pricks through time
Of Re-insurer's endless gain, the ceder's contumely?
The pangs of moneys spent, the hazard low,
The triumph of the other (with the spurns of self)
Which courageous carrying of the risk entire
Had made complete for you.
Just a mere risk? Why not take the burden whole
And fret yourself throughout until expiry?
But the dread of calamity that might be great
With unknown loss that perchance would swallow all
Unless 't were wisely covered, puzzles the will,
And makes us doubly quick to share the premium
And suffer diminution of our gain.
Thus doth hazard make cowards of us all
And thus the attribute of wise precaution
Magnifies the ogre of frightful accident
Until the normal ratios of insurance enterprise
No longer seeming normal turn all our currents awry
And so disturb the brain. Soft you now!
Excess wisely and so find peace of mind.

Parodizer Unknown

Submitted by R. Michael Cass, RM Cass Associates, Barrington, Illinois

Back To ESLR Committee Home Page

---

For enrollment in a committee of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, simply fill out the on-line committee application form.

Please note:  If you are already a Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section member, you may join up to three (3) committees at no additional cost. However, if you are not a Section member, you must join the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section first.

If you have any questions regarding participation in TIPS Committees, please contact Sonia Schroeder, our Committees Administrator at schroeders@staff.abanet.org or by phone at 312/988-6229.

TIPS LEGAL DISCLAIMER --
The materials at this site, including the links to other Web sites, have been provided by the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice, the practice of law, or the endorsement of the content provided by any linked site. Use of this site does not create or constitute, in any way, an attorney-client relationship between the ABA, TIPS, their entities, or any individual members and the viewer of this site. Neither does the ABA, TIPS, their entities, nor any of their members assume any responsibility for any misinterpretation or misapplication of the information contained on this site by the viewer, or of the content of any Web sites linked to this site. Points of view or opinions at this site do not necessarily represent the official policies or positions of the ABA, TIPS, or any of its entities or members. Users of this site should not act upon any information received without seeking the advice of professional legal counsel