The Royal Exchange Assurance, founded in 1720, was a 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 ...

company. It took its name from the location of its offices at the

Royal Exchange, London The Royal Exchange in London was founded in the 16th century by the merchant Sir Thomas Gresham on the suggestion of his factor Richard Clough to act as a centre of commerce for the City of London. The site was provided by the City of London Cor ...

Origins

The Royal Exchange Assurance emerged from a joint stock insurance enterprise known as ''Onslow's insurance'' or ''Onslow's Bubble''. This had been begun as the ''Mercer's Hall Marine Company'', or ''Undertaking kept at the Royal Exchange for insuring ships and merchandise at sea''. A similar enterprise sought incorporation in 1718, but the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

reported against this. Lord Onslow then sought a means of avoiding the difficulty by his company acquiring the charters of

Society of Mines Royal The Society of the Mines Royal was one of two English mining monopoly companies incorporated by royal charter in 1568, the other being the Company of Mineral and Battery Works. History On 28 May 1568, Elizabeth I established the Society by let ...

and

Company of Mineral and Battery Works The Company of Mineral and Battery Works was, (with the Society of the Mines Royal), one of two mining monopolies created by Elizabeth I. The Company's rights were based on a patent granted to William Humfrey on 17 September 1565. This was replac ...

, which declared itself open for assuring ships and merchandise in March 1719. Their opponents petitioned against this and the Attorney-General reported in May 1719 that the use made of the charters was "unwarrantable". The directors admitted this mistake but requested their own charter in January 1720. They and another insurance enterprise each offered £300,000 towards the King's

Civil List A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom and its former colonies of Canada, India, New Zeal ...

debts. The King then encouraged the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

to permit their incorporation. This was done in the

Bubble Act The Bubble Act 1720 (also Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation Act 1719) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed on 11 June 1720 that incorporated the Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation, but more significant ...

. The new chartered company then accepted subscriptions paid on shares in the old company in payment for those on its own shares.

Chartered company

The company received its

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

under the ''Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation Act 1719'', popularly known as the

. Under the terms of this legislation, the Royal Exchange and the ''London Assurance Company'' were the only incorporated bodies chartered to write

marine insurance Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

. Although this eliminated competition from other corporations, private underwriters, such as those at

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

would remain in business. This arrangement continued until the repeal of the act, in 1824.

Amalgamation

The Royal Exchange Assurance survived as an independent company for over two centuries until merging with the Guardian Assurance Company in 1968.Guardian Financial Services: About us

Governors

Notable governors of The Royal Exchange Assurance included: *

Nicholas Magens Esq. Nicholas Magens or Nicolaus Paul Magens (1697 or 1704–1764) was an attorney, a merchant on Spain and her colonies in America, and an expert on ship insurance, general average and bottomry who gained a great reputation in commercial mat ...

(1741-1750) *

Pascoe Grenfell Pascoe Grenfell (3 September 1761 – 23 January 1838) was a British businessman and politician. Biography He was born at Marazion, in Cornwall. His father, Pascoe Grenfell (1729–1810), and uncle were merchants in the tin and copper business ...

(1829–1838) *

Thomas Tooke Thomas Tooke (; 28 February 177426 February 1858) was an English economist known for writing on money and economic statistics. After Tooke's death the Statistical Society endowed the Tooke Chair of economics at King's College London, and a Tooke ...

(1840–1852) * Octavius Wigram (1852–1878) *

Vivian Smith, 1st Baron Bicester Vivian Hugh Smith, 1st Baron Bicester (9 December 1867 – 17 February 1956) was a British merchant banker. Early life Vivian Hugh Smith was born on 9 December 1867. He was the elder son of Hugh Colin Smith (son of John Abel Smith and Governor ...

(1914–1956) *

Hugh Kindersley, 2nd Baron Kindersley Brigadier Hugh Kenyon Molesworth Kindersley, 2nd Baron Kindersley of West Hoathly (7 May 1899 – 6 October 1976) was a British Army officer, businessman, banker. His father was businessman Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley GBE. Early y ...

(1955–1968)

References

Insurance companies of the United Kingdom Financial services companies based in the City of London Financial services companies established in 1720 British companies disestablished in 1968 1720 establishments in England British companies established in 1720 {{UK-finance-company-stub

Origins

Chartered company

Amalgamation

Governors

See also

References