General Accident Reinsurance Company Ltd
The General Accident Reinsurance Company was established as The London and Provincial Marine Insurance Company in 1860 to offer insurance of shipping and cargoes and insurance of bullion, passengers' baggage and effects in London, Liverpool and the provincial ports.
Company History
London & Provincial Marine cover page to Deed of Settlement, 1860
London & Provincial Marine policy of Moses H. Sawyer, Evelyn commander, 1860
The General Accident Reinsurance Company was incorporated as the London and Provincial Marine Insurance Company on 3 November 1862 and registered as a limited company on 26 February 1880. From 1890, business was expanded to offer general insurance and, on 17 February 1898, the company changed is name to the London and Provincial Marine and General Insurance Company Ltd.
In January 1912, the majority shareholding was purchased by the World Marine Insurance Company Ltd, later part of the Commercial Union Assurance Company Ltd, who sold its stake to the Yorkshire Insurance Company Ltd (which itself became a subsidiary of the General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corporation Ltd in 1967) a year later.
In 1920, the company started to transact fire and accident business. By 1967, this business was 100% reinsured by the Yorkshire while the company's marine account was being operated by St Helens Trust Ltd. From 1980, the company operated as a specialist reinsurance company for the General Accident Group, and changed its name to General Accident Reinsurance Company Ltd, transacting all classes of reinsurance apart from life. The company dissolved on 4 September 2007.
Key dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1860 | The company is established |
| 1862 | The company is registered as a limited company |
| 1898 | Name changes to the London and Provincial Marine and General Insurance Company |
| 1912 | A majority shareholding is purchased by the World Marine Insurance Company |
| 1913 | World Marine sells its stake to the Yorkshire Insurance Company |
| 1967 | The Yorkshire is acquired by the General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation |
| 1980 | The company begins operating as a specialist reinsurance company for the General Accident Group and changes its name to General Accident Reinsurance Company Ltd |
| 2007 | Company business is dissolved |
Did you know...?
- The archive includes a policy dated 7 July 1860 in the name of M H Sawyer on captain's goods, including a sextant and chronometer to be used during the voyage of the Evelyn from Liverpool to Calcutta and then to New Orleans. The archive also includes the captain's public declaration after the Evelyn foundered on 28 July 1860. The declaration lists the lost goods and details of how the crew survived in a lifeboat for eight days, before landing at Tenerife.
Subsidiaries and constituents*
| Year | Company name |
|---|---|
| 1889 - 1908 | Provincial Homes |
| 1900 - 1908 | Irish Provident |
| 1895 - 1910 | Irish Provident FS |
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1860 - 1903 | 2 Royal Exchange Buildings, London |
| 1903 - 1911 | 3 Royal Exchange Buildings, London |
| 1911 - 1924 | 3 & 4 Royal Exchange Buildings, London |
| 1924 - 1928 | 30 Cornhill, London |
| 1928 - 1935 at least | 4 Fenchurch Avenue, London |
| by 1941 - 1953 | 85 Gracechurch Street, London |
| 1953 - 1973 | 4 Fenchurch Avenue, London (registered offices) |
| 1973 - 1997 | Becket House, 36/37 Old Jewry, London (registered offices) |
| 1997 - 2001 | One Lloyds Avenue, London (registered offices) |
| 2001 - | St Helen's 1 Undershaft, London (registered offices) |
Staff and officials
Secretary
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1860 | Henry E Warren |
| 1860 - 1897 | J L Daniell |
| 1897 - 1907 | Henry S B Cooley |
| 1907 - 1913 | Edward Williamson Jr |
| 1913 - 1917 | Frank Silverlock |
| 1917 - 1933 | Irving H Cortazzi |
| 1933 - 1946 | D Mann |
| 1946 - 1968 | D F Macrae |
| 1968 - 1970 | I A Chambers |
| 1970 - 1973 | A J Swift |
| 1973 - 1977 | I A Chambers |
| 1977 - 1982 | L W Mansfield |
| 1982 - 1997 | R A Whitaker |
Underwriter (equivalent to manager)
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1860 - 1892 | Irving Frederick de Rougemont |
| 1892 - 1911 | Herbert E Secretan |
| 1911 - 1953 | George Garfield Sharman (joint with Mr Taylor from 1942) |
| 1953 - 1973 | C E R Taylor (joint with Mr Sharman from 1942) |
| 1973 - 1980 | H G Merriman |
Manager (later deputy general manager)
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1980 - 1991 | W A Jones |
| 1991 - | No manager listed |
London & Provincial Marine Report & Accounts, 1862
London & Provincial Marine, Public declaration of Moses H. Sawyer, Evelyn commander, 1860
Directors (1860)
- Admiral Sir Henry Leeke
- George Braginton
- James Laming
- Mark Whitwill
- John Averay Jones
- Charles Wells
- James Nugent Daniel
- Henry T Watson
- Henry Fox
- Ingram Chapman
- Frederick John Price
- Thomas Cotterell
Directors (1967)
- Sir Richard B Graham
- F Simpson
- M F Strutt
- H E Wright
Home branches and agencies
- Liverpool (1868)
- Manchester (by 1874)
- Huddersfield (1877)
Overseas branches and agencies
- Singapore (by 1861)
- Hong Kong (1871)
- Melbourne, Australia (by 1873)
- Yokahama, Japan (by 1874)
- Madras, India (by 1874)
- Alexandria (by 1874)
- Colombo, Ceylon, Sri Lanka (by 1874)
- Calcutta, India (by 1874)
- Bordeaux, France (by 1874)
- Shanghai, China (by 1874)
- Adelaide, Australia (by 1874)
- Mauritius (by 1874)
- Bombay, India (by 1874)
- Sydney, Australia (by 1874)
- Foochow, China (1875)
- Hankow, China (1875)
In the archives
The Aviva archive contains records relating to the running of the London and Provincial Marine Insurance Company between 1860 and 2000. The collection includes deeds of settlement, board minutes, journals, annual report and accounts, share registers, share transfer books and policy.
