Research

Scope and Content Note

This series details the financial activities of life, fire, and marine insurance companies through correspondence and financial records. The committee, known as the "Lockwood Committee" for chairman Charles C. Lockwood, investigated the investment activities of the insurance industry as it related to funds available for mortgages and investments in housing.

The committee wanted to identify and eliminate investment practices that were deleterious to the housing market. Detailed financial records, predominantly for life insurance companies, reveal the types of investments (principally the purchase of municipal, state, and federal government bonds) each company made over a span of years, often from as early as 1906 through 1919. Information on real estate investments is also found with some companies' records. The series includes information from out-of-state insurance companies also.