Biographical/historical information

During World War I, the federal government assumed an expanded role in providing financial assistance and insurance protections to military personnel and their families. These efforts were administered through the United States Department of the Treasury, which oversaw the creation of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. Established prior to American entry into the war and significantly expanded after 1917, the Bureau administered programs designed to address the financial risks associated with wartime service. Legislation enacted by the United States Congress authorized the federal government to provide insurance and compensation benefits at a time when private insurance companies often limited or denied coverage to active service members.

The Bureau offered government sponsored life insurance policies, disability compensation, and family allotment payments intended to provide financial stability for service members and their dependents in cases of injury, death, or loss of income. Application forms required individuals to supply detailed personal, medical, and military service information, as well as beneficiary and financial data. As a result, these records document both the administrative processes of wartime benefit programs and the personal circumstances of individuals who served during the conflict.

Following the war, federal responsibility for veterans' benefits continued to expand, and administration of these programs was reorganized under successor agencies, including the United States Veterans' Bureau.

Arrangement

The Treasury Department Bureau of War Risk Insurance Applications Collection consists of a single folder of individual insurance applications submitted between December 1917 and October 1918. The materials document applications for government-issued war risk insurance by United States Navy personnel during the First World War.

The collection contains sixty-seven applications, each representing an individual serviceman. The applications typically record the applicant's name, rank or rating, place of residence, assigned naval station, ship, or recruiting office, and the date of application. The individuals represented reflect a broad geographic distribution across the United States and service in a range of naval contexts, including training stations, recruiting offices, receiving ships, and active vessels.

The collection is arranged in a single series comprising one folder. Within the folder, items are organized alphabetically by surname, beginning with Armstrong and concluding with Yates. Each item is individually identified at the item level within the container list.

Administrative information

Custodial History

February 17, 2026 (processed), 0.25 cubic feet; Application forms (1917-1918) submitted by US Navy during World War I, for $10,000 US Treasury Department, Bureau of War Risk Insurance, Division of Military and BNaval Insurance policies, including service number, name, address, date of birth, age, date of last enlistment, amount of insurance, beneficiaries name and address, certification as a true copy, where applied for, date of application, witnesses name and rank, applicants signature and rank. Printed forms. Carbon typescript 67 items. Donor: Linda A. Bell, President of the Gason-Lincoln Genalogical Society.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Linda A. Bell

Processing information

Processed by Katelyn Hudson, March 2026

Copyright notice

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Metadata Rights Declaration

This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

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