The White Cross Insurance Company Ltd (No. 2)
The White Cross Insurance Company was established on May 20 1876 as the Scottish Metropolitan Life Assurance Company and was incorporated on December 20 1898. In 1977, the company merged with the White Cross Insurance Company Ltd, taking that company’s name the following year.
Company History
Scottish Metropolitan Life Assurance Company Annual Report, 1877-78
Scottish Metropolitan Life Assurance Company policy header, 1880s
Scottish Metropolitan Life Assurance Company magazine advertisement, 1887
William Gibson Bloxsom, Scottish Metropolitan Life Assurance Company Manager, 1892
The company was founded by William Gibson Bloxsom as a life assurance provider. Initially, he sought to run the company without the use of commissioned agents, relying instead on shareholders and word of mouth to encourage new policy holders. This approach did not prove successful and, in 1879, the company started paying agents to sell policies.
In 1883, the company claimed to have pioneered the system of paying claims immediately on proof of death rather than the custom of the time of making the claimant wait up to six months before payment. By this date, the company also offered special rates for master mariners, an extension of free limits for foreign residence and overseas travel and a system for collecting rates by monthly instalments.
In 1889, the company extended its business to include accident insurance. The acquisition of the Standard Accident Insurance Company Ltd in 1892 allowed it to extend its accident business to Europe and the colonies, although the company's colonial business was abandoned nine years later.
In 1898, the company started transacting workmen's compensation business and, in 1909, extended its business to include general insurance. By 1910, the company was offering life assurance, children's policies, death duty assurances, house purchase schemes, personal accident policies, workmen's compensation, public liability and driving accident insurance for horse-driven vehicles.
In October 1909, the company changed its name to the Scottish Metropolitan Assurance Company Ltd and, on August 1 1912, became a subsidiary of the London & Lancashire Life and General Assurance Association Ltd, which itself became a subsidiary of the Northern Assurance Company Ltd in 1923.
In 1912, the company closed its life fund to new business. By 1938, however, it was offering life insurance once more, as well as accident, workmen's compensation, fidelity guarantee, fire, motor car, third party, plate glass and burglary insurance. In May 1968, the Northern became a subsidiary of the Commercial Union Assurance Ltd, at which point ownership of shares in the company passed to Commercial Union.
In 1977, the company merged with another Northern subsidiary, the White Cross Insurance Company Ltd. On March 10 1978, White Cross was renamed Southern's Properties Ltd while Scottish Metropolitan became known as the White Cross Insurance Company in order to protect the White Cross brand. The company was dissolved on February 26 2005.
Key dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1876 | The company is established |
| 1892 | The company acquires the Standard Accident Insurance Company |
| 1898 | The company is incorporated |
| 1909 | Name changes to the Scottish Metropolitan Assurance Company |
| 1912 | The company becomes a subsidiary of 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 the Commercial Union Assurance |
| 1977 | The company merges with the White Cross Insurance Company |
| 1978 | Name changes to the White Cross Insurance Company |
| 2005 | The company is dissolved |
Did you know...?
- The company's founder and first manager, William Gibson Bloxsom, was only 29 when appointed and had previously worked for the Scottish National Insurance Company as inspector of agents. He was an avid golfer and his many golfing achievements included playing 12 rounds on the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club links in one day - completing 180 holes and covering 32 miles.
Subsidiaries and constituents*
| Year | Company name |
|---|---|
| 1880 | Scottish Metropolitan Fire Insurance Company (sold to the Caledonian Insurance Company in 1883) |
| 1885 - 1888 | Scottish Economic Life Assurance Society Ltd |
| 1888 - 1892 | Standard Accident Insurance Company Ltd |
| 1887 - 1894 | London Amicable Assurance Society Ltd |
| 1888 - 1896 | Scottish Alliance Insurance Company Ltd (accident business only) |
| 1887 - 1898 | Commercial Fire Insurance Company of Scotland Ltd (accident and employers' liability business only) |
| - 1898 | The Queensland Mutual Insurance Company Ltd (accident and employers' liability business only) |
| 1896 - 1898 | National Cycle & Motor Car Insurance Company Ltd (accident and employers' liability business only) |
| 1907 - 1977 | White Cross Insurance Company Ltd (No 1) (business merged) |
* 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
Edinburgh
| Year | Address |
|---|---|
| 1876 - 1881 | 2 York Place |
| 1881 - 1973 | 25 St Andrew's Square |
| 1973 | 26 George Street |
| No Edinburgh premises listed after 1973 | |
London
| Year | Address |
|---|---|
| 1876 - 1881 | 77 King William Street |
| 1881 - 1889 | 79 Cornhill |
| 1889 - 1913 | 8 King Street, Cheapside |
| 1913 - 1929 | Sun Court, 67 Cornhill |
| 1929 - 1958 | King William Street House, Arthur Street |
| 1958 - 1960 | Northern House, 29 Gresham Street |
| 1960 - 1968 | 1 Moorgate |
| 1968 - 1969 | 24 Cornhill |
| 1969 - 2005 | St Helen's 1 Undershaft |
Staff and officials
Manager
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1876 - 1900 | William Gibson Bloxsom |
| 1900 - 1901 | William Rae Macdonald (interim manager) |
| 1901 - 1912 | H E Marriott |
| 1912 - 1925 | William Aeneas Mackay |
| 1925 - 1939 | Frank B Cooke |
| 1939 - 1951 | S G Joyce (joint manger) |
| 1939 - 1956 | R F James (joint manager to 1951) |
| 1956 - 1959 | J Macdonald |
| 1959 - 1966 | T W Hayes |
| 1966 - 1968 at least | C E Keysall |
| Position not listed after 1968 | |
Secretary
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 1876 - 1913 | William Rae Macdonald |
| 1913 - 1926 | F S Goggs |
| 1926 - 1929 | E E Dent |
| 1929 - 1945 | A G H Emslie |
| 1945 - 1959 | J E Snare |
| 1959 - 1963 | F Joule |
| 1963 - 1968 | D A Mills |
| 1968 - 1971 | H T Frost |
| 1971 - 1977 | D R Cobden |
| 1977 - 1990 at least | G T Spratt |
Directors (1876)
- John H A MacDonald (later Lord Kingsburgh)
- Robert Adam
- George Cousin
- Lachlan Cowan
- Robert Donaldson
- James W Dunn
- Andrew Forrester
- John MacKay
- William Mackinnon
- David Scott Moncrieff
- Alexander T Niven
- R L Peploe
- John Alexander Reid
- Alexander Peddie Waddell
- John Wilson
Home branches and agencies
- Glasgow (1876)
- London (1876)
- Aberdeen (1876)
- Bradford (1876)
- Inverness (1877)
- Greenock (1877)
- Liverpool (1878)
- Belfast (1878)
- Middlesborough (1878)
- South Shields (1878)
- Newcastle (by 1891)
- Birmingham (by 1891)
- Manchester (by 1891)
- Bournmouth (1892)
- Bristol (1892)
- Guernsey (1892)
- Northampton (1892)
- Nottingham (1892)
- Plymouth (1892)
- Sunderland (1892)
- Tunbridge Wells (1892)
- York (1892)
- Leeds (1893)
- Bath (1898)
Overseas branches and agencies
- Dublin, Ireland (1878)
- Marseilles, France (1892)
- Antwerp, Belgium (1892)
- Wellington, New Zealand (1892)
- Hong Kong (1893)
- Shanghai, China (1893)
- Yokohama, Japan (1893)
- Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, India (1897)
- Ceylon (Sri Lanka) (1897)
- Sydney, Australia (1898)
- Melbourne, Australia (1898)
- Montreal, Canada (by 1919)
- Holland (Netherlands) (by 1923)
In the archives
The Aviva archive contains records relating to the running of the White Cross Insurance Company between 1876 and 1997. The collection includes board and committee minutes, share registers, ledgers, annual reports and accounts, loans on policies ledgers, journals, policies and promotional material.
Other resources
Visit the Guildhall Library for more material relating to the White Cross Insurance Company.
