17th century coffee shop to 21st century terror
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The world's oldest insurance market began in a City of London coffee shop belonging to Edward Lloyd. Mr Lloyd provided the premises and shipping news that his clientele used to insure vessels on their long trips across the world. The small market was well known by City entrepreneurs by 1688.
Those participating in the market would agree how much of the risk they wanted to cover and would sign their names one beneath the other on a document coining their name as "underwriters".
The Lloyd's Act of 1871 put the society on a formal legal footing but it retained an air of gentlemanly capitalism. Cuthbert Heath, a famous underwriter, said after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake: "Pay all of our policies in full, irrespective of the terms."
But more recent questionable practices left Lloyd's in trouble. Some syndicates invested heavily in each other, sending a few toppling down when massive losses hit the market in the late 1980s, mainly from US asbestosis claims and natural disasters. Thousands of names were also bankrupted, leading to a decade of acrimonious legal battles with the Lloyd's central body.
Lloyd's now faces its largest ever one-off hit from the 11 September attacks, leading to fresh questions about whether it can survive in the ultra-competitive modern world of insurance.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments