One day he was applied to by a merchant to effect an assurance on a ship which had been long absent, and of the safety of which many doubts were entertained. Perrott demanded a very high premium, and the applicant demurred. In the course of conversation, however, he carelessly alluded to a fine porcelain jar of which a friend was possessed, and which he thought he could procure. Perrott’s eyes opened as the description proceeded. It was the apple of his eye, the very specimen his soul desired, and his visitor, on witnessing the anxiety he evinced, offered to go for it, good-naturedly declaring it was of no value to him, and at the express solicitation of Perrott went off immediately to fetch the valued prize. The merchant seemed a long time gone, but Perrott attributed this to his own impatience, and felt fully rewarded when he saw him return bearing the porcelain he coveted. With eager hands he grasped it; the assurance on the missing ship was most advantageously concluded for his client; and Perrott went home a happy man. On entering the place where all his treasures were deposited, lo! his own jar was missing, and he found on inquiry that he had been outwitted by his City friend, who had tempted him to a low assurance with information about his own property, and at his urgent wish had procured it from his own home by a deception on his own housekeeper.
Burning with rage, and vowing vengeance against the crafty merchant, whom he determined to expose on ’Change, Perrott went to town the next morning, where the first information which greeted him was the arrival of the vessel he had just assured. Finding the tables turned in his favour he wisely held his peace, merely making an especial visit to the merchant to congratulate him on the arrival of his merchandise so immediately after he had assured it.
The following fraud, which was perpetrated in 1780, was perhaps the first instance of a deception which has since been often repeated. An application was made to the London to insure the life of a lady for 2000_l._ The references were satisfactory. The lady’s health was sound, her habits were good, her constitution was excellent. The usual certificates were handed in and the assurance was concluded. Within six months a claim was made for the money. The ordinary forms were lodged and found to be regular, the disease was certified to be that of the lungs, which of all others should have been discovered in the earliest stages. The directors looked grave and questioned the secretary, and the secretary questioned the doctor. There was no accounting for it; it all seemed regular; no fraud could be alleged, and the policy was discharged. Scarcely had it been paid when certain information was given. Inquiries were again instituted, and it was discovered that one sister being ill and utterly given over, the other brought a certificate of the invalid’s birth, personated her at the assurance office, deceived the medical man, sent in the certificate of her sister’s death, and obtained the money. No sooner did the office commence its inquiries than the lady was missing, and the company compelled to abide by its first loss.