Event

Aetna’s apology, 2000

On 9 March 2000 Aetna said it regretted having insured the lives of slaves in the 1850s, and declined further action.

2 links, 0 backed by primary records

Connections 2

Timeline 1 date

Proof 3 sources

Apology made for slave policies, Associated Press, via Las Vegas Sun, 9 Mar 2000. Scholarship & press
“We express our deep regret over any participation at all in this deplorable practice.”
Aetna, which noted that the slave policies were legal before slavery was abolished, said it plans to make no reparations.
Aetna said its records show the company wrote no more than a dozen such policies to slave owners.
“We have concluded that no further actions are required at this time,” Laberge said.
Aetna has long acknowledged that for several years shortly after its founding in 1853 that the company may have insured the lives of slaves
Aetna Acknowledges Issuing Slave Policies During 1850s, Offers Apology, Denies Reparations, Democracy Now!, 14 Mar 2000. Scholarship & press
there’s limited and incomplete information on our archives on the extent of that participation
Aetna apologizes for pre-Civil War policies issued on lives of slaves, Ethics Newsline, Institute for Global Ethics, 13 Mar 2000. Scholarship & press
The apology follows the recent efforts of New York lawyer and activist Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, who has petitioned several U.S. corporations, including Aetna and FleetBoston Financial, asking them to apologize for their alleged involvement in the slave trade.
They have a moral obligation to apologize and share that wealth.

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