Scottish Alliance Insurance Company Ltd
The Scottish Alliance Insurance Company was established by William D Cairney in 1888. In November 1903, the business, property and assets of the company were transferred to the Union Assurance Society, which was acquired by the Commercial Union Assurance Company Ltd in 1907, and the company went into voluntary liquidation the following year.
Company History
William D Cairney
Scottish Alliance magazine advert, 1890
In its first few years, the company offered fire and personal accident insurance, with
"special discounts given where fire extinguishing apparatus is in use".
By 1896, it had extended its business to include life assurance. In the same year its accident business was transferred to the Scottish Metropolitan Life Assurance Company.
On August 1 1912, Scottish Metropolitan was acquired by the London & Lancashire Life and General Assurance Association Ltd. In 1923, London & Lancashire became a subsidiary of the Northern Assurance Company Ltd, which itself became a subsidiary of Commercial Union in May 1968.
Key dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1888 | The company is established |
| 1896 | The company transfers its accident business to the Scottish Metropolitan Life Assurance Company |
| 1903 | The business, property and assets of the company are transferred to the Union Assurance Society |
| 1904 | The company goes into voluntary liquidation |
| 1907 | Union Assurance is acquired by the Commercial Union Assurance Company |
| 1912 | Scottish Metropolitan is acquired by the London & Lancashire Life and General Assurance Association |
| 1923 | London & Lancashire becomes a subsidiary of the Northern Assurance Company |
| 1968 | The Northern becomes a subsidiary of Commercial Union |
Subsidiaries and constituents*
| Year | Company name |
|---|---|
| 1885 - 1891 | Mercantile, Accident and Guarantee Insurance Company Ltd |
| by 1903 | Manitoba Insurance Company of Canada |
* 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
Glasgow
| Year | Address |
|---|---|
| by 1890 - 1891 at least | 24 St George Square |
| by 1904 | 151 St Vincent Street |
London
| Year | Address |
|---|---|
| by 1890 - 1891 | 106 Cannon street |
| by 1891 at least | 121 Cannon Street |
Staff and officials
Manager
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| by 1890 at least | Robert Muir |
| 1892 - 1903 | W A Tipping (also Secretary) |
Secretary
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1880 - 1892 | William D Cairney |
| 1892 - 1903 | W A Tipping (also Manager) |
Home branches and agencies
- Dundee (1888)
- Edinburgh (1895)
- Manchester (by 1900)
- Liverpool (by 1901)
- Leeds (by 1902)
- Bristol (by 1902)
- Birmingham (by 1902)
Overseas branches and agencies
- Russia (by 1890)
In the archives
The Aviva archive contains records relating to the running of the Scottish Alliance Insurance Company between 1890 and 1904. The collection includes acquisition material and advertisements.
