A grisly history

This makes total sense, after all, the purpose of Life Cover is primarily to financially take care of loved ones left behind. The sum insured can be used to pay mortgages, debts, school and university fees, household expenses and other financial burdens where one of the main income providers is no longer able to contribute financially. The death of a child, while tragic, does not generally have a direct financial impact on their surviving family in any significant way. How did we come to write this law in the first place? The answer lies within a startling – and chilling – piece of history.

While modern day single mothers face many difficulties, those in the Victorian era were in an almost impossible situation. With no state benefits or standardised childcare, they relied upon their relations, friends, church groups or communities to look after their children while they worked to put food on the table. Besides struggling financially, they had to deal with judgement and disapproval from a society where the popular opinion was that two married parents were required to adequately raise a child. Desperate single mothers – and sometimes impoverished married women too – began to seek out paid childcare for their children. Sometimes these paid agreements were just for the day, while the mother worked. At other times, they were a way to unofficially adopt out a child whose mother simply could not afford to keep them.

Many of these outfits were offering a much needed childminding service with utterly good intentions and did the best job they could. However, following high-profile criminal cases in the British and Australian courts, the concept of ‘baby farming’ came to the forefront of New Zealanders’ minds. This was where paid caregivers would accept their fee, and then neglect or abuse their charges, sometimes to the point of death, or even murder the children deliberately.

Arguably the most infamous female criminal in New Zealand history, and the first and only woman to be given the death penalty in this country is Minnie Dean. She cared for twenty-six children in her time as a caregiver. The first two children to die under her care attracted the attention of the police. When they learned that she had been trying to take out life insurance policies on the children in her care, they grew even more suspicious. Only five of the twenty-six children were found to be in good health following her execution. Six of the children died, one had been given back to its original family, and fourteen children are still unaccounted for to this day.

Prominent baby farming cases such as Minnie Dean’s resulted in changes to both childcare legislation and insurance legislation.

While this is a fascinating and grisly piece of history, it is still having an impact to this day on the life insurance industry with providers needing to be aware of and follow the law that Minnie and Co forced upon us.