Lloyds of London
by Martin Newman
Title
Lloyds of London
Artist
Martin Newman
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance market located in London's primary financial district, the City of London. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not a company but instead a corporate body governed by the Lloyd's Act of 1871 and subsequent Acts of Parliament. Lloyd's serves as a partially mutualised marketplace within which multiple financial backers come together to pool and spread risk. These underwriters or "members" are both corporations and individuals (the latter being traditionally known as Lloyd's "Names").
The insurance business underwritten at Lloyd's is predominantly general insurance and reinsurance, although in 2013 there were five syndicates writing term life assurance. The market has its roots in marine insurance and was founded by Edward Lloyd at his coffee house on Tower Street in the 17th century. Today, it is based at the Lloyd's building on Lime Street. Its motto is Fidentia, Latin for "confidence".[1]
In 2011, over £23.44 billion of gross premiums were transacted in the Lloyd's market and in the aggregate it made a pre-tax loss of £516 million, driven by a number of significant natural disasters which gave rise to its highest-ever annual level of claims.[2] In 2012, Lloyd's made a pre-tax profit of £2.77 billion on a record £25.50 billion of gross written premiums.[3]
Uploaded
June 3rd, 2015
Embed
Share
