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Lloyd's of London's long relationship with American businesses has been marked by more than 150 years of growth and innovation.
While Lloyd's has been doing business in America for less than half of its 311 -year existence, the U.S. market today is the largest overseas source of business for Lloyd's, accounting for nearly one-third of its total premiums.
Premiums, losses and capital from U.S. entities have helped make Lloyd's the institution it is today. Early in the 20th century, payment of claims from the San Francisco earthquake and fire boosted the market's reputation. Huge losses from industrial liabilities in the 1980s led to a radical restructuring of Lloyd's, but the influx of U.S. corporate capital in the late 1990s has helped revive the market.
The history of Lloyd's in America is dotted with achievements that have helped shape the insurance marketas well as U.S. businesses-and that continue to do so, according to underwriters.
Beginnings In the late 1600s, as the British colonies were busy cultivating their economies, clients at Edward Lloyd's coffee house on London's Tower Street were exchanging news of shipping and shipping-related services. These wealthy individuals who grouped together to cover the potential loss of ships and cargo were laying the foundation of Lloyd's. As each signed his name one beneath the other on the policies, they became known as "underwriters."
The coffee house continued to be a center for marine insurance, and by the end of the 18th century, the underwriters had elected a committee and moved to their own premises in the Royal Exchange.
By 1840, the United States and Canada had become important sources of marine business for Lloyd's underwriters. Indeed, then-Chairman George Robinson spent five months visiting the United States and Canada that year, traveling up and down the eastern seaboard, according to Lloyd's.
The Society of Lloyd's was incorporated by Lloyd's Act 1871, and by the turn of the next century, Lloyd's had become a major force in non-marine insurance as well.
Early in the 20th century, Lloyd's aided U.S. economic development through underwriting support for a wide variety of risks, both directly and as a reinsurer.
And Lloyd's provided coverage to more than just the new manufacturing companies and expanding U.S. insurance industry. In addition, a...