CGU Underwriting
CGU Underwriting was established in 1714 as the Union Fire Office. In 1907, the company became a subsidiary of the Commercial Union Assurance Company Ltd and was incorporated as a limited company on July 30 1907. On February 8 1995, the company was renamed Commercial Union Underwriting Ltd and became CGU Underwriting on October 1 1999.
Company history
Union Assurance Society mace
Panel from Union Assurance Society fire engine
Union Assurance Society Head Office, 81 Cornhill, London, 1819
Union Assurance Society policy, 1725
Union Assurance Society Report and Accounts, 1888
Union Assurance Society policy case
The first meeting of the Union Fire Office was held at the Amsterdam Coffee House in Threadneedle Street, London in February 1714. The company's first claim was paid out in December of the same year on a fire at the Dolphin Tavern in Mark Lane, London. According to a 1735 prospectus, the aims of the company were
"to insure merchandises, goods, wares, utensils in trade, household furniture and such-like things; except plate and pictures, as also glass and china ware, all not in trade; except also ready money, jewels, books of account, tallies, writings, barns, ricks and stacks of corn, hay and straw".
Shortly after its formation, the company entered into an agreement with the Hand-in-Hand Fire Office in which Hand-in-Hand would insure only buildings and Union only contents. This situation continued until 1805 when Union extended its business to include houses and other buildings.
The company had its own fire brigade. Fire fighters wore a brown uniform with distinctive arm badges and a fire mark featuring four clasped hands, which led to it being colloquially known as the Double Hand-in-Hand or the Four-at-Hand office. By 1862, the brigade had its own engine, which was handed over to the city authorities in 1865.
In 1813, the company started to offer life assurance and extended what had been a primarily London-based business to the rest of the United Kingdom and overseas. In the same year, the company dropped the fire part of its name and variously described itself in advertisements and on its policies as the Union Assurance Office, the Union Society and the Union Assurance Society (No 1).
The company grew quickly and, by 1886, it reported funds in hand of £1,950,000. In 1888, the company extended its overseas fire business. By 1891, the company was also transacting life business on the continent and, according to a contemporary source,
"no company doing business in this country is more worthy of confidence".
In 1904, an accident department was established following the acquisition of the Scottish Alliance Insurance Company. In the wake of the disastrous San Francisco earthquake in 1906, the company paid out to policy holders
"in full, without evasion, quibble or discount"
total claims of £828,446. The company struggled to absorb such a large pay out and was subsequently acquired by Commercial Union the following year. In 1907, the company stopped transacting new life business and, by 1916, was offering the following classes of insurance: fire, loss of profits, personal accident, burglary, domestic servants, sickness and accidents, combined domestic, plate glass, fidelity guarantee, workmen's compensation, employers' liability, motor car, motor vehicles, property owners' indemnity, third party, drivers and vehicle risks, motor engineering, steam boilers, gas plants, electrical plants and live stock.
Key dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1714 | The company is established |
| 1813 | Name changes to Union Assurance Society (No.1) |
| 1865 | The company fire engine is handed over to city authorities |
| 1906 | The company pays out £828,446 following the San Francisco earthquake |
| 1907 | The company becomes a subsidiary of the Commercial Union Assurance Company |
| 1907 | The company is incorporated as a limited company |
| 1995 | Name changes to Commercial Union Underwriting |
| 1999 | Name changes to CGU Underwriting |
Did you know...?
- The company suffered severe losses in the Gordon Riots of 1780.
- In 1851, the company insured the pictures and drawings at the home of the artist J M W Turner.
- In 1855 the company insured Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales.
Subsidiaries and constituents*
| Year | Company name |
|---|---|
| - 1896 | Aachen Leipziger Insurance Company |
| 1896 - 1896 | Victoria Fire Insurance Company of New York |
| 1888 - 1903 | Scottish Alliance Insurance Company Ltd |
| 1863 - 1906 | Guardian Plate Glass Insurance Company Ltd |
| 1880 - 1911 | North West Fire Insurance Company of Canada |
| 1902 - 1914 | La Republica of Chile |
| 1874 - 1915 | Cotton Waste Dealers' Fire Insurance Company |
| 1910 - 1924 | Australian Provincial Assurance Association (fire, marine and accident business) |
* Please note the first date given is the date of the establishment of the company and the second date is the date the company was acquired or became a subsidiary. Where only one date is given the company was established as a subsidiary of the parent company. Where one date is preceded by a hyphen the date of the establishment of the company is not known.
Head office premises
| Year | Address |
|---|---|
| 1714 - 1716 | Snow Hill, London (Hand-in-Hand premises) |
| 1716 - 1754 | Gutter Lane by Cheapside, London (rented from Sir Edward Clarke) |
| 1754 - 1798 | 11 Maiden Lane, London |
| 1798 - 1907 | 81 Cornhill, London (premises rebuilt between 1856 and 1857) |
| 1907 - 1960 | 1-2 Exchange Buildings, London (lease acquired in 1905 and new offices built) |
| 1960 - 1969 | 24 Cornhill, London |
| 1969 - | St Helen's, 1 Undershaft, London |
Staff and officials
Secretary
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1776 - 1800 | Charles Hartley |
| 1800 - 1807 | Isaac Harman |
| 1807 - 1812 | Thomas Galabin |
| 1812 - 1856 | Thomas Lewis |
| 1858 - 1861 | William Burrowes Lewis |
| 1865 - 1874 | Clement J Oldham |
| 1874 - 1902 | Charles Darrell |
| 1902 - 1906 | Joseph Powell |
| by 1908 - 1928 | Alfred Makins |
| 1928 - 1945 | W H Walker |
| 1945 - 1959 | R K Lochhead |
| 1959 - 1960 | L S Cooper |
| 1960 - 1969 | L N Wills |
| 1969 - 1970 | H T Frost |
| 1970 - 1977 | D R Cobden |
| 1977 - 1987 at least | G T Spratt |
Manager
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1871 - 1888 | William Burrowes Lewis |
| 1888 - 1901 | William George Wilkins (fire manager) |
| 1901 - 1907 | Joseph Powell (general manager and secretary from 1902) |
| 1907 - 1922 | Herbert Lewis |
| 1922 - 1925 | A E Sich |
| 1925 - 1945 | W H Walker (secretary from 1928) |
| 1945 - 1948 | S Townsend |
| 1948 - 1959 | E L Showell |
| 1959 - 1960 | V E Masters |
| 1960 - 1963 | A B Kempton |
| 1963 - 1968 at least | E Orbell |
| Position not listed after 1968 | |
Actuary
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1813 - c1871 | Thomas Lewis |
| c1871 - 1876 | Ebenezer Wenham |
| 1876 - 1897 | William Wallis |
| 1897 - 1907 | Lionel K Pagden |
| No life business after 1907 | |
Directors (1735)
- David Barclay
- Richard Chauncy
- Walter Coleman
- Samuel Fludyer
- Henry Gerrard
- Samuel Hawkins
- Henry Hinde
- Peter Hind
- Joseph Ingram
- William Kroger
- Edward Lambert
- John Lancashire
- Thomas Miller
- Thomas Needham
- Selfe Norris
- John Plant
- John Pickton
- Edward Smith
- James Sawcer
- William Taylor
- Thomas Teeton
- Obediah Wickes
- Robert Wilmott
Home branches and agencies
- West End branch (1728)
- Manchester (by 1809; branch by 1879)
- Edinburgh (1814)
- Tiverton (by 1850)
- Chudleigh (by 1850)
- Glasgow (by 1872)
- Liverpool (1878)
- Newcastle (1879)
- Birmingham (1880)
- Bristol (by 1885)
- Leeds (branch in 1888)
- Nottingham (by 1890)
- Plymouth (by 1890)
- Belfast (by 1890)
- Blackburn (by 1905)
- Bradford (by 1905)
- Hull (by 1905)
- Sheffield (by 1905)
- Cardiff (by 1905)
- Leicester (by 1905)
- Southampton (by 1905)
- Aberdeen (by 1905)
- Dundee (by 1905)
Overseas branches and agencies
- Dublin, Ireland (1813; branch by 1890)
- Berlin, Germany (1816; branch by 1890)
- Hamburg, Germany (1817; branch in 1824)
- Strasburg, Germany (1884)
- Belgium (1888)
- United States (1888)
- Myanmar (Burma) (1889)
- Chile (1889)
- Cuba (1889)
- Copenhagen, Denmark (1889)
- India (1889)
- Japan (1889)
- Philippines (1889)
- Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malaysia) (1889)
- Berne, Switzerland (by 1890)
- Paris, France (by 1890)
- Amsterdam, Netherlands (by 1890)
- Canada (1890)
- Egypt (1890)
- Panama (1890)
- Hong Kong (1892)
- South Africa (1892)
- Trinidad (1892)
- Vietnam (French Indo China) (1893)
- Hawaii, United States (1895)
- Mauritius (1895)
- Thailand (1895)
- Argentina (1896)
- Bechuanaland (Botswana) (1896)
- Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) (1896)
- Jamaica (1898)
- Cost Rica (1899)
- Melbourne, Australia (1903)
- New Zealand (1909)
- Turkey (1910)
- Barcelona, Spain (by 1923)
In the archives
The Aviva archive contains records relating to the running of CGU Underwriting between 1725 and 1997. The collection includes deeds of settlement, policies, powers of attorney, registers of members, journals, fire brigade memorabilia, board minutes, board of trade returns, branded material, prospectuses, staff registers, annual report and accounts, photographs, specimen policies, staff diner information, investment ledgers, photographs and product literature.
Further resources
Visit the Guildhall Library for more material relating to CGU Underwriting. Records for CGU Underwriting Ltd can be found under the Union Assurance Society (No.1).
