Publication of slave records

California’s Slaveholder Insurance Policy Law requires all insurance companies that sold cover to slave owners in the 19th century to open their archives to the public. Under a typical US$11-a-year policy a slave owner received US$500 when a slave died. Although California law does not permit actions against former slave-owning companies from their descendants, and the provision allowing claims against insurers was dropped, this is more than a theoretical exercise, with attention moving to businesses that may have profited indirectly from slavery as a possible basis for future claims.