Boardwalk Empire: Rothmere Surety Life Insurance policy for Michael Doyle appears in Episode 504

In Boardwalk Empire, the Rothmere Surety Life Insurance policy for Michael Doyle appears in Season 4, Episode 5 ("Erlkönig") and plays a small but telling role in the broader narrative of Gillian Darmody’s desperate attempts to regain control of her life and assets.

Michael Doyle is the assumed name of Roger McAllister, the young man Gillian seduced and murdered in Season 3, whom she passed off as her son, Jimmy Darmody, in order to legally claim Jimmy’s estate, including the Commodore’s house.

The Rothmere Surety life insurance policy is part of the paperwork Gillian submits or refers to in order to further legitimize her fabricated story—that Jimmy had returned under the alias “Michael Doyle” and later died, allowing her to collect benefits or strengthen her legal claim to his property. The presence of the life insurance document adds another layer to Gillian’s intricate web of lies, which includes forging death certificates, manipulating legal documents, and even perjuring herself.

The use of a fictional insurance company like Rothmere Surety helps illustrate just how far Gillian is willing to go in falsifying a paper trail to get what she wants. It's also a subtle commentary on the theme that runs throughout Boardwalk Empire: in the world of power, influence, and survival, paperwork and appearances can be just as powerful as violence or money—and just as dangerous when falsified.