The Eagle Star Insurance Company plc (formerly Eagle Star Insurance Company Limited) was a leading British

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

business. It underwrote the full range of risks including liability, fire, accident, marine, motor, life, contingency and Pluvius (weather) insurance. It was listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

and was a constituent of the

FTSE 100 Index The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with (in principle) the highest market ...

History

The Company was founded by Edward Mountain in 1904 as the ''British Dominions Marine Insurance Company'', which operated as a marine insurance office in the five principal overseas Dominions. It started writing fire and accident policies in 1911 and life assurance policies in 1916. It expanded rapidly in its early years acquiring ''the Eagle'' (founded by Sir William Rawlins in 1807) in 1916 and both ''the Sceptre'' (founded in 1864) and ''the Star'' (founded in 1843) in 1917. It was renamed the ''Eagle Star & British Dominions'' in 1917 and ''Eagle Star'' in 1937. For many years its Head Office was at the prestigious address 1 Threadneedle Street, London EC2. However, a new administrative head office and computer centre was opened in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

in October 1968. In 1981 it fought off a takeover bid from

Allianz Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...

, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

insurance Group. It was acquired by BAT Industries for £968m in 1984. It continued to trade, under the Eagle Star name, until acquisition by

Zurich Financial Services Zurich Insurance Group Ltd is a Swiss insurance company, headquartered in Zürich, and the country's largest insurer. As of 2021, the group is the world's 112th largest public company according to ''Forbes'' Global 2000s list, and in 2011 it ran ...

in 1999. In the 1980s, the company supported the Nature Conservatory and the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throug ...

in the successful reintroduction of

sea eagle A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Taxonomy and evolution The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...

s to Scotland.

References

External links

* Financial services companies established in 1904 Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Insurance companies of the United Kingdom 1904 establishments in England Financial services companies disestablished in 1984 Defunct companies of England Companies based in Cheltenham Zurich Insurance Group {{England-company-stub

History

See also

References

External links