Fine Art and General Insurance Company Ltd
The Fine Art & General Insurance Company was incorporated on July 25 1890 as the Fine Art Insurance Company. In 1917, the company became a subsidiary of the North British & Mercantile Insurance Company Ltd, which itself became a subsidiary of the Commercial Union Assurance Company Ltd in 1959. The company was dissolved on December 21 2005.
Company History
Fine Art and General Insurance Company policy header, 1921
Fine Art and General Insurance Company proposal, 1922
The company was originally established to offer fire insurance for pictures, objets d'art and art and exhibitions. It enjoyed a close alliance with the Hong Kong Fire Insurance Company until 1894 when that company gave up its London business, causing the working expenses to show
"a considerable, but unavoidable, increase".
On March 9 1894, the company changed its name to the Fine Art & General Insurance Company and soon expanded its business to include all non-life insurance. In 1909, the company began to offer employers' liability insurance and, by 1922, was offering fire, loss of profits, burglary, 'all risks', personal assurance, public liability, motor car, motor vehicle, motor cycle, baggage, plate glass, fidelity guarantee and live stock insurances.
In 1968, ownership of all the issued shares of the company passed to Commercial Union and the company became a wholly owned subsidiary carrying on the business of fire and accident insurance.
Key dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1890 | The company is established |
| 1894 | Name changes to the Fine Art & General Insurance Company |
| 1917 | The company becomes a subsidiary of the North British & Mercantile Insurance Company |
| 1959 | North British becomes a subsidiary of the Commercial Union Assurance Company |
| 1968 | The company becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Commercial Union |
| 2005 | The company is dissolved |
Subsidiaries and constituents*
| Year | Company name |
|---|---|
| 1906 - 1906 | Aldwych Insurance Company Ltd |
| 1901 - 1913 | Pall Mall Insurance Company Ltd |
| 1905 - 1913 | Alpha Insurance Company |
| 1906 - 1913 | Southwark Insurance Company |
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1890 - 1894 | 28 Cornhill, London |
| 1894 - 1904 | 90 Cannon Street, London |
| 1904 - 1923 | 89-90 Cheapside, London |
| 1923 - 1958 | 64 Cornhill, London |
| 1958 - 1969 | 24 Cornhill, London |
| 1969 - | St Helen's, 1 Undershaft, London |
Staff and officials
General manager
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| by 1891 – 1895 | Claude G Hay (also secretary) |
| 1895 – 1919 | A Player Feddon (also secretary) |
| by 1934 – 1946 | H S Milligan |
| 1946 – 1949 | Sir Thomas Frazer |
| 1949 – 1954 | E Lansdowne |
| 1954 – 1958 at least | R G Harman |
| by 1962 | H G Moore |
| by 1964 – 1971 | H T Frost (also secretary) |
Secretary
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| by 1891 – 1895 | Claude G Hay (also general manager) |
| 1895 – 1919 | A Player Feddon (also general manager) |
| 1920 – 1948 | Alfred E Ridoutt |
| 1948 – 1958 at least | H G Moore |
| by 1962 – 1971 | H T Frost (also manager by 1968) |
| 1971 – 1977 | D R Cobden |
| 1977 – | G T Spratt |
Directors (1891)
- J M Macdonald
- The Earl de Grey
- The Hon J Scott Montagu
- Sir James D Linton
- J C Horsley
- T Humphry Ward
- A Stuart Wortley
- Arthur Anderson
- E F G Hatch
Home branches and agencies
- Liverpool (1893)
- West End, London (by 1903)
- Belfast (by 1903)
- Birmingham (by 1903)
- Bristol (by 1903)
- Edinburgh (by 1903)
- Glasgow (by 1903)
- Leeds (by 1903)
- Manchester (by 1903)
- Newcastle (by 1903)
- Bradford (by 1907)
- Carlisle (by 1907)
- Dundee (by 1907)
- Leicester (by 1907)
- Middlesbrough (by 1907)
- Hull (1908)
- Nottingham (1913)
- Sheffield (1920)
- Southampton (1920)
- London (Mincing Lane) (1921)
- Plymouth (1921)
- Colchester (1921)
- Darlington (by 1934)
Overseas branches and agencies
- Hamburg, Germany (1893)
- Paris, France (1893)
- Brussels, Belgium (1894)
- Amsterdam, Netherlands (1894)
- Alexandria, Egypt (1894)
- Dublin, Ireland (1894)
In the archive
The Aviva archive contains records relating to the running of the Fine Art & General Insurance Company between 1891 and 1997. The collection includes share ledgers, minutes, proposals, policies, investment ledgers, journals, staff records and annual reports and accounts.
Other resources
Further records can be accessed at the Guildhall Library. Visit the Glasgow City Archives for Glasgow branch shareholders' meetings agenda books, share allotment book, branch results, ledgers, journals and accounts papers between 1891 and 1960 and the Gloucestershire Archives for Tewkesbury district agency policy books between 1911 and 1943.
