Manuscript Collection

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Identifier

Accession 479

Inclusive Dates

1979-1982

Restrictions

Open under the rules and regulations of the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections

Collection Size

3,500 pieces, 1.75 linear feet

Language

English

Historical Note

The South Carolina Insurance Commission was created in 1908 to control and administrate the South Carolina Department of Insurance which was the State Agency charged with the responsibility of regulating and enforcing the statutes under which all insurance companies, both foreign and domestic, operate within the state of South Carolina.

The Commission was originally composed of five members appointed by the governor who were charged with the responsibility of selecting a Chief Insurance Commissioner.

Prior to the mid-fifties the individual American was considered to have a necessary right to drive an automobile because of the wide dispersal of the population, and the consequent lack of public transportation.

With the increase in vehicles and major highways, however, traffic accidents increased causing a subsequent demand for mandatory liability insurance. When, in 1974, this legislation came into effect, it created an increase in business within the general insurance system with a subsequent need for reorganization within that system.

Since a large number of drivers were not desirable insurance risks, mechanisms for pooling the responsibility of this residual market were created. Assigned Risk Plans, Joint Underwriting Associations and Reinsurance Facilities were several of the mechanisms developed which later became the Associated Automobile Insurers.

Since the South Carolina Insurance commission is an official State Agency, more complete records are located at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Scope and Content Note

The South Carolina Insurance Commission Records consist of memoranda relating to organizational policies and procedures, correspondence between South Carolina Insurance Commission, the State of South Carolina Department of Insurance, the Joint Legislative Automobile Liability Insurance Study Committee, and the general public. Also included are memoranda on the commission business, financial records, annual reports and minutes of the meetings, and bills, laws, and proposals governing Federal and State legislation with regard to Insurance. A large part of the collection consists of agendas. It is a good source of information for those researching state institutions, the effect of progress on the South, or the economics of insurance.

Provenance

The collection was deposited with the Winthrop University Archives and Special Collections by the South Carolina Insurance Commission via Mary Jeanne Byrd on September 15, 1982.

Copyright

For information concerning copyright please contact the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections at Winthrop University.

South Carolina Insurance Commission Records - Accession 479

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