Insurance has been around for a lot longer than your customers might think. I’ve gone back to the start of it all – and picked out a few choice nuggets from Norwich Union’s 212-year history on the way.
When did insurance start?
It all began with marine insurance, which can be traced back to 13th-century Genoa and Palermo.
In 1797, when Thomas Bignold founded the Norwich Union Society for the Insurance of Houses, Stock and Merchandise from Fire, the business of fire insurance was already over a century old.
The life insurance business got off the ground in 1699 with the establishment of the Society of Assurance for Widows and Orphans. The Amicable Society, which was later acquired by the Norwich Union Life Insurance Society, was formed in 1706.
One popular type of policy in the mid-19th century was steam boiler insurance. This protected steam boiler owners against loss caused by boilers exploding.
Motor insurance has also changed a bit since the early days when it was based on policies used for horse-drawn vehicles.
What’s the connection between insurance and fire brigades?
The first fire brigades were organised by insurance companies (or “Fire Societies”) – in fact, Norwich Union ran a fire brigade in Worcester until 1929.
For quick identification of the properties they insured, each company produced “fire marks” – metal or ceramic plaques that were fixed to the wall of a policyholder’s property.
With the development of a modern postal service, street addresses became much more reliable and fire marks fell out of use – but became eminently collectable.
The pictures above come from Roy Addis, owner of probably the largest collection ever. Check out his fire marks website.
Take a look at today’s equivalent of the fire mark: electronic online documentation for brokers
Test your knowledge
In which year was the penny postal system introduced?
If you think you know the answer comment it below.
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