What is the name of the 1774 Act of Parliament that required life insurance policies to have an insurable interest?

The 1774 Act of Parliament that required life insurance policies to have an insurable interest was the Life Assurance Act 1774.

Passed by the Parliament of Great Britain and receiving royal assent on 20 April 1774, the statute targeted “gaming” or wagering on human lives. Before it, someone could insure another person’s life without having a legitimate financial connection to that person. The Act made such policies void when the policyholder lacked an interest in the insured life or death.

The Act is also commonly called the Gambling Act 1774 because its long title addressed insurance used as a form of gambling. It did not provide a detailed modern definition of insurable interest; later legal decisions developed the idea as a genuine expectation of financial loss resulting from someone’s death.

A common mix-up is the Marine Insurance Act 1906, which concerns marine insurance and codified related principles for property at sea. The 1774 statute specifically became the landmark measure for life assurance.