Plate Glass Insurance Company of the City of London Ltd
The Plate Glass Insurance Company of the City of London was established in 1852 as the Plate Glass Universal Insurance Company. The company was acquired by the Commercial Union Assurance Company Ltd on September 29 1910, at which point it went into voluntary liquidation.
Company History
Plate Glass Universal Insurance Company magazine advertisement, 1855
Plate Glass Insurance Company of the City of London advertisement, 1909
The company was the first established in the UK to carry out plate glass insurance and, by 1870, had changed its name to the Plate Glass Insurance Company. According to an advertisement of 1895, the company insured
"plate glass of every description in shop fronts, private houses, also looking glasses".
By the time of its acquisition, the company had 1,477 agents.
On March 31 1910, the company was incorporated as the Plate Glass Insurance Company of the City of London. Six months later it had been voluntarily liquidated.
Key dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1852 | The company is established |
| 1870 | Name changes to the Plate Glass Insurance Company |
| 1910 | The company is incorporated as the Plate Glass Insurance Company of the City of London |
| 1910 | The company is acquired by the Commercial Union Assurance Company |
| 1910 | The company goes into voluntary liquidation |
Subsidiaries and constituents*
| Year | Company name |
|---|---|
| - 1860 | British Nation Plate Glass Insurance Company |
| - by 1870 | National Alliance Plate Glass Insurance Company |
| - 1894 | Portsmouth and District Plate Glass |
* 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
London
| Year | Address |
|---|---|
| by 1855 - 1890 at least | 53 Lime Street |
| by 1895 | 58 Lime Street |
| by 1909 - 1910 | 24 Lime Street |
Staff and officials
Secretary
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| by 1885 - 1890 at least | E Brookes |
| by 1895 - 1909 | Frederick James Austin |
Managing director
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| by 1855 - | Elger Stephenson |
| by 1870 - 1890 at least | E Dresser Rogers |
| by 1909 - 1910 | Edward Phippard George Rogers |
Home branches and agencies
- Surrey (by 1895)
In the archives
The Aviva archive contains records relating to the running of the Plate Glass Insurance Company of the City of London between 1855 and 1910. The collection includes advertisements and agreements.
