Life Assurance Act 1774
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act for regulating Insurances upon Lives, and for prohibiting all such Insurances except in cases where the Persons insuring shall have an Interest in the Life or Death of the Persons insured. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 14 Geo. 3. c. 48 |
| Territorial extent | Great Britain |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Statute Law Revision Act 1888 |
| Relates to | Life Insurance (Ireland) Act 1866 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of the Life Assurance Act 1774 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Life Assurance Act 1774 (14 Geo. 3. c. 48, also known as the Gambling Act 1774) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Great Britain, which received royal assent on 20 April 1774. The Act prevented the abuse of the life insurance system to evade gambling laws. It was extended to Ireland by the Life Insurance (Ireland) Act 1866, and is still in force. Prior to the Act, it was legally possible for any person to take out life insurance on any other person, regardless of whether or not the beneficiary of the policy had any legitimate interest in the person whose life was insured. As such, the system of life insurance provided a legal loophole for a form of gambling: an insurance policy could be taken out on an unrelated third party, stipulating whether or not they would die before a set date, and relying on chance to determine if the "insurer" or "policy-holder" would profit by this event.