The Legal War Over the Titan's Insurance

Follows Mr. Meyer's fight to avoid paying the Titan's insurance and the complicated legal battle that follows.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Panic at Lloyds

Panic at Lloyds The Moment The Crier announces the destruction of the Titan, and underwriters climb over desks and each other to hear the news. Mr. Meyer, the noisiest of all, breaks away and groans that the loss will ruin him. Why It Matters Meyer has the heaviest risk on the Titan, ten thousand pounds. Other underwriters mock him, and he drinks himself stupid in the Captain's room. The financial panic at Lloyds becomes the hidden motive for the legal war. Everyone wants to know whether the insurance must be paid, and the answer depends on the suppressed story of the Royal Age.

The Rowland Bulletin

The Rowland Bulletin The Moment A bulletin at Lloyds announces that John Rowland, a sailor of the Titan, is at Christiansand with a child passenger, dangerously ill. He speaks of a ship cut in half the night before the loss of the Titan. Why It Matters The underwriters realize that the Royal Age was sunk by the Titan, and that the captain concealed it. Meyer is roused from his drinking by other underwriters who force him to take up the case. The bulletin is the first crack in the company's cover-up. It gives Meyer a weapon and gives Rowland a voice.

Building the Case

Building the Case The Moment Meyer returns to his desk, clear-eyed and busy, and begins a systematic investigation. He studies the charter, the company lists, and the insurance policies, and he discovers that Captain Bryce is part owner of the Titan. Why It Matters Part ownership transforms a captain's negligence into barratry, which can void the insurance. Meyer also hires an attorney and prepares to fight the steamship company. The case is being built on paper before the human witnesses arrive. This is the legal machinery that will eventually trap Bryce and Austen.

The Confession

The Confession The Moment In the middle of the confrontation, Captain Bryce explodes that the drug was not hasheesh but an infusion of Indian hemp. Mr. Austen claps his hand over his mouth, but the damage is done. Why It Matters Hasheesh is made from Indian hemp, so Bryce has admitted to drugging Rowland. Mr. Meyer springs to his feet and calls Captain Barry as a witness. The confession turns the legal war in Meyer's favor. It also publicly discredits the two officers and seals their downfall.

Rowland's Veto

Rowland's Veto The Moment Mr. Meyer expects Rowland to testify that the Royal Age's lights were out. Instead, Rowland announces that the insurance on the Titan will be paid because he refuses to testify at all. Why It Matters Rowland's refusal saves Mr. Selfridge's grandchild from financial ruin but destroys Meyer's case. Meyer rages, locks the door, and is only stopped when Captain Barry kicks it down. The legal war ends not with a courtroom judgment but with a moral choice. Rowland has decided that the cause of the wreck was full speed in fog and that the underwriters, who took the risk, must pay.

the day the Titan's loss was announced

three weeks after the loss

weeks before Rowland reached London

in Mr. Meyer's Threadneedle Street office

after Mr. Selfridge's death