South British Insurance Company Ltd
South British was established June 14 1872 as the South British Fire and Marine Insurance Company of New Zealand. The company was incorporated on October 11 1907 and subsequently changed its name to the South British Insurance Company Ltd.
Company history
South British Fire and Marine Insurance Company booklet
South British Fire and Marine Insurance Company Agents' Directory
South British Fire and Marine Insurance Company booklet
W G Dove, Singapore Manager
South British Fire and Marine Insurance Company policy header
G F Ross, Assistant Manager, Far East Branch
Business got off to a brisk start. The company's first policy was issued on August 30 1872 to William Morrin, who insured his furniture against fire. In the first week, 35 more fire proposals were received and just three days after commencing business, the company accepted its first marine risk on the hull of Captain Daldy's 51-ton ketch Forest Queen. The company's first major marine risk was written on September 17 for 25,000 ounces of gold in transit from the Thames Goldfields.
By 1906, South British was offering fire marine and accident insurance and, in 1907, the company issued its first motor policy. With the acquisition of the Guardian Trust and Executors Company of New Zealand Limited in 1915 the company also began to offer fidelity insurance and, in the 1960s, established subsidiaries offering life assurance.
In 1981, the company merged with the New Zealand Insurance Company Ltd forming another, parent company called the New Zealand South British Group Ltd. In May 1984, New Zealand South British changed its name to the NZI Corporation Ltd and was acquired by the General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation in 1989. The South British Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of NZI Corporation, was dissolved on November 30 2000 when it merged with Belves Investments Ltd.
Key dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1872 | The company is established |
| 1981 | Merges with the New Zealand Insurance Company |
| 1984 | Parent company New Zealand South British Group Ltd name changes to the NZI Corporation |
| 1989 | NZI Corporation is acquired by the General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corporation |
| 2000 | Merges with Belves Investments and is dissolved |
Did you know...?
- In 1873, a fire on the western side of Queen Street and another, five weeks later, on lower Queen Street cost the company £8,000 in claims.
- In January 1875, the company was involved in a tragic sea disaster when a fire on the emigrant ship, Cospatrick, led to the loss of all but three of the ship's passengers.
- In 1956, the company was involved in the loss of the Andrea Doria, an Italian luxury liner that collided with the Swedish ship Stockholm off Nantucket Island near New York. The liner was insured for $12 million and represented the biggest single loss in marine insurance to that date.
- Stannus Jones, one of the company founders and original directors, was a city auctioneer and a prime mover in the foundation of the Northern Club in Auckland.
Subsidiaries and constituents*
| Year | Company name |
|---|---|
| - 1884 | Commercial Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Australia |
| - 1888 | Adelaide Fire and Marine Insurance Company |
| 1889 | Oceanic Fire and Marine Insurance Company |
| 1889 | Zealandia Fire and Marine Insurance Company |
| 1889 | Commercial Insurance Company |
| - 1895 | Mutual Union Insurance Company of Tasmania |
| - 1899 | The Straits Marine Insurance Company |
| 1881 - 1915 | Guardian Trust and Executors Company of New Zealand Ltd |
| 1891 - 1916 | Farmers Co-operative Insurance Association of New Zealand Ltd |
| 1913 - 1923 | Eastern United Assurance Corporation Ltd (sold in 1949 and repurchased in 1964) |
| c1920 - 1924 | Union and National Insurance Company Ltd of South Africa |
| 1862 - 1960 | United Insurance Company Ltd of Sydney |
| 1921 - 1967 | Australasian Capital Assurances Ltd |
| 1969 | South British Life Assurance 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.
Staff and officials
Secretary
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1906 - 1910 | R M Clark |
| 1910 - 1916 | No secretary listed |
| 1916 - 1920 at least | J M Stokes |
| 1956 - 1962 | Alexander Hugh Ramsay (also general manager) |
| 1962 - 1974 | W J Morgan |
| 1974 - 1982 at least | L J Windsor |
General Manager
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1872 - 1880 | Abraham Boardman (later Mayor of Auckland) |
| 1880 - 1890 | George Johnston |
| 1890 - 1911 | James Kirker |
| 1911 - 1914 | Robert Hislop |
| 1914 - 1934 | Percy Henry Upton |
| 1934 - 1946 | James Morton |
| 1946 - 1955 | Christopher Joseph Rogers |
| 1956 - 1962 | Alexander Hugh Ramsey (also secretary) |
| 1962 - 1971 | Gilbert Lennox-King |
| 1971 - 1981 at least | Douglas Littleton Bullock |
Directors (1872)
- Albert Beetham JP
- Stannus Jones
- William Daldy
- William Morrin
- Andrew Wardrop
- Henry Chamberlin
- William Earl
Home branches and agencies
- Wellington (by 1872)
- Christchurch (by 1872)
- Dunedin (by 1872)
- Nelson (by 1872)
Overseas branches and agencies
- Sydney, Australia (1872) (branch in 1875)
- Glasgow, Scotland (1872)
- London, England (1873) (branch in 1885)
- Liverpool, England (1875)
- Levuka, Fiji (1875)
- Samoa (1878)
- Hobart, Tasmania (1879)
- New York, United States (1879) in conjunction with National Fire and Marine Company of New Zealand.
- Noumea, New Caledonia (1880)
- Cape Colony, South Africa (1880)
- Calcutta, India (1880)
- Bombay, India (1880)
- Yokahama, Japan (1880)
- Germany (1880s)
- Belgium (1880s)
- Hong Kong (1881)
- Lima, Peru (1881)
- Shanghai, China (1882)
- Paris, France (by 1883)
- Stockholm, Sweden (by 1883)
- Madras, India (by 1883)
- Karachi, Pakistan (by 1883)
- Foochow, China (by 1883)
- Nagasaki, Japan (by 1883)
- Kobe, Japan (by 1883)
- Padang, Indonesia (by 1883)
- Manila, Philippines (by 1883)
- Macassar, Ujung Pedang, Indonesia (by 1883)
- Rangoon, Myanmar (Burma) (by 1883)
- Akyab, Myanmar (Burma) (by 1883)
- Belfast, Northern Ireland (by 1883)
- Christiana (Oslo), Norway (by 1883)
- Copenhagen, Denmark (by 1883)
- Dublin, Ireland (by 1883)
- Saigon, Vietnam (by 1883)
- Batavia (by 1883)
- Singapore (by 1883) (branch by 1898)
- Taiwan (by 1883)
- Amoy (by 1883)
- Amsterdam, Netherlands (by 1889)
- Genoa, Italy (by 1889)
- Mauritius (by 1883)
- Rotterdam, Netherlands (by 1883)
- Bancock, Thailand (by 1892)
- Colombo, Sri Lanka (by 1892)
- Wladiwostock, Russia (by 1892)
- Rio de Janiero, Brazil (by 1893)
- Canada (by 1895)
- Malaysia (1899)
- Korea (by 1916)
Published history
Risks and Rewards - A Centennial History of The South British Insurance Company Ltd, 1872 - 1972 by C W Vennell. Wilson and Horton, Auckland, 1972.
In the archives
The Aviva archive contains records relating to the running of the South British Insurance Company between 1873 and 1982. The collection includes annual reports and accounts, staff newsletters, specimen and completed policies, rate books, London office salary books, marine underwriting registers, ledgers, balance sheets, prospectuses, London board minutes, press cuttings, memoranda and articles of association and scrap books.
Other resources
Visit the Archives New Zealand of the National Archives for more material relating to the South British Insurance Company. Records include board minutes from 1872 and other papers.
