When was lloyds of london founded

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The person from whom it takes its name had little or no knowledge of underwriting and had no direct connexion with that business: he was, in fact, the keeper of a coffee-house first in Tower Street and then, from , in Lombard Street in the days when coffee - houses were becoming convenient places for business men to discuss their affairs over such refreshment as the houses provided.

It was natural that persons of like interest should haunt the same place, and Lloyd's Coffee - house was patronised chiefly by the city merchants interested in marine affairs and in the insurance of the risks connected with the sea. So the connexion grew, and even the Admiralty gave information to the master of Lloyd's Coffee-house and sought and obtained information in return.

By Charles Wright C. Ernest Fayle. In nine merchants, underwriters, and brokers formed a committee which took over the premises and appointed two masters to run them. Lloyd's moved into the Royal Exchange in By the Life Assurance Act, , Parliament prohibited gambling insurance on lives, thus vindicating the stand of those who had reorganized Lloyd's.

In Lloyd's had only subscribers. These enjoyed the sole right of entry to the underwriting room at Lloyd's. The wars with France from to brought great prosperity for marine insurers, among them John Julius Angerstein, an underwriter and broker who served as chairman in , from to , and again in At the height of the wars the number of subscribers rose to over 2, British entrepreneurs chafed at the law against new marine insurance companies.

In the Bubble Act was at last repealed, but peace had signaled a decline in marine insurance. The number of subscribers fell from 2, in to in In , to raise money, a higher subscription was imposed on those subscribers who underwrote insurances and only paid.

In , the committee of Lloyd's abolished the office of the masters and assumed full responsibility, through its secretary, for administering the market. In Captain G. Halsted of the Royal Navy was appointed secretary, a post he held for 20 years. From Lloyd's began to appoint politically prestigious persons from outside its own community to the chairmanship. The most notable was G. Goschen, a young liberal member of Parliament who later became chancellor of the exchequer.

He was chairman from to and again from to After Lloyd's reverted to having chairmen who worked in the market. During the first half of the 19th century the committee was largely concerned with intelligence-gathering for the benefit of Lloyd's members.

Beginning in it appointed firms and persons in ports throughout the world to provide shipping information. By there were over Lloyd's Agents, as they were called.

Lloyd's Agents receive no remuneration except for services rendered to underwriters such as surveying damaged property. They could, however, hope for some commercial advantage from their association with Lloyd's.

Marine underwriters have always felt the need for information about ship construction. As early as they formed a registration society which published a book of details of ships for the use of subscribers only. In shipowners began publishing a similar book. In the two publications were merged to form Lloyd's Register of Shipping, administered by a committee representing shipowners, merchants, and marine underwriters.

The register operates as a corporation separate from Lloyd's. The provision of intelligence loomed large in the work of Henry Hozier, who was secretary from to In addition to strengthening Lloyd's' central staff, he saw the desirability of getting information promptly, and set up coastal telegraph stations for that purpose.

By Lloyd's had 17 stations at home and six abroad. They worked in cooperation with the Admiralty. Hozier was knighted. He was a pioneer of wireless telegraphy which Lloyd's used early in the 20th century.

For much of the 19th century the committee exercised little power over its underwriting members. Lloyd's remained a loosely run club. Not until did a general meeting resolve that any member becoming bankrupt should forfeit his membership. Legislation was sought to strengthen the committee's powers.

The objectives of the society were stated as the carrying on of marine insurance by members and the collection and publication of intelligence. At that time Lloyd's' participation in non-marine insurance was negligible and the Act made no reference to it or, indeed, to insurance brokers. Between and the underwriting membership of Lloyd's had doubled. The committee became increasingly concerned to see that applicants for membership had the necessary means to support their underwriting.

From , in a few cases, guarantees or deposits were required, but it was not until that they became mandatory. Even then they related only to marine insurance. After the volume of non-marine insurance became significant. Its growth was largely due to the efforts of C. Heath, an underwriter who began his own business in Besides transacting fire insurance he pioneered new forms such as all risks insurance on property on land, and on household burglary.

From the latest information, as of Dec. With roots in marine insurance, Lloyd's was founded by Edward Lloyd at his coffee house on Tower Street in It was popular with sailors, merchants, and ship owners, and Lloyd catered to them with reliable shipping news.

The establishment became known as a good place to purchase marine insurance. The shop was also frequented by mariners involved in the slave trade.

Lloyd's obtained a monopoly on maritime insurance related to the slave trade and maintained it until the early 19th century. The Lloyd's Act gave the business a sound legal footing. The Lloyd's Act of set out the organization's objectives, which includes the promotion of its members' interests and the collection and dissemination of information. Today, Lloyd's has a dedicated building on Lime Street, which opened in Corporate Insurance.

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