This is a history of Lloyd's, a British insurance and reinsurance market. In the 17th century, London's importance as a trade center led to an increasing demand for ship and cargo insurance. Edward Lloyd's coffee house became recognised as the place for obtaining marine insurance. Since those beginnings in a coffee house in 1688, Lloyd's has been a pioneer in insurance and has grown to become the world's leading market for specialist insurance.

In this fascinating insider’s account, an American woman who became an investor alleges that irresponsibility, incompetence, greed, and fraud at Lloyd’s, the world’s most glamorous insurance enterprise, have caused the company to lose $12 billion in the last ten years. Lloyd’s of London is not simply an insurance company; it is a society comprising thirty thousand Names (roughly 10 percent of whom are Americans)—private individuals like Elizabeth Luessenhop who accepted the risk of unlimited liability and pledged all their wealth to backing the insurance policies written by Lloyd’s. The beauty was that the Names didn’t have to put up any money to receive their profit share. As long as the premium calculations were sound, everybody prospered. But the 1980s were bad years for Lloyd’s—and for the Names who backed its business. It was also a time when the Society of Names grew by 50 percent to cover the disastrous losses the company was beginning to incur. Risky Business, written with veteran financial writer Martin Mayer, is a detailed account of how the mismanagement of Lloyd’s has affected thousands of American investors who, like Luessenhop, sought low-risk, long-term security. Luessenhop and Mayer take us inside a unique business institution and show us that the ramifications of a possible Lloyd’s failure will be severe—and felt worldwide.

This text presents the history of Lloyd's from 1688 to 1955. It provides a description of the gradual transition of Lloyd's from a 17th century coffee house to the insurance market of the 1950s.

Examines the recent financial difficulties of the three-hundred-year-old British insurance company, and discusses the implications for the financial market.

Huge losses very nearly destroyed Lloyd's, a revered British institution, the world's largest insurance market. Ten thousand people faced big personal bills they thought profoundly unfair. They challenged a complacent institution, forcing it to confront its biggest ever crisis. This book tells what really happened, from the inside.

Lloyd's London (1937). The aim of this title is to answer some of the questions which are frequently asked by people who wish to know more about Lloyd's and its Members' activities in the fields of Insurance. Contents include: Preliminary Remarks The Beginnings of Lloyd's Lloyd's as a Corporation Generally Explaining how Business is Transacted at Lloyd's Generally Describing the Activities of Underwriting Agents and of Lloyd's Brokers Can Holders of Lloyd's Policies Rely Upon Lloyd's Reputation for Fair Dealing? Explaining How Some Firms at Lloyd's Act in the Dual Capacity of Brokers and Underwriting Agents Opposition to Lloyd's and The Financial Security Behind Every Lloyd' Policy.