Lloyds of London

The specialist insurance market that grew from a coffee house where ship captains and merchants traded marine risk.

Overview

Beginning around 1686 in Edward Lloyd coffee house, the market is a society of managing agents running syndicates that underwrite policies backed by capital from corporations and private members. Private capital, the names, suffered staggering losses in the asbestos and pollution years of the early 1990s, forcing reforms toward corporate money and limited liability vehicles. A central fund stands behind syndicates, giving the paper its security. Lloyd's incubated unusual covers, from celebrity legs to satellite launches, and remains a hub for marine, energy, aviation, and surplus lines worldwide, regulated in the United Kingdom. The modern Lloyd's building on Lime Street opened in 1986, and the market writes tens of billions of pounds in premium annually.