Lloyd's history
Lloyd’s began in a rather unlikely place: a small coffee house in Tower Street, in the City of London
The year was 1688 and back then, Lloyd’s had little resemblance to what it is today. Indeed, it became a home for insurance almost by chance.
How it all began
Coffee became a very popular drink in the 17th century and as a result, coffee houses were appearing all over London. Edward Lloyd’s in particular grew to be a favourite meeting place among ships' captains, merchants and ship owners – earning it a reputation as the place to go for trustworthy shipping news and, as time went on, for marine insurance.
Intervening years
Over the last 300 years, we’ve seen entire cultures and economies grow; we’ve witnessed leaps forward in technology; and pioneered new types of insurance to match. We insured motor cars when they first became available in the UK. We’ve covered aviation from its early days and we were involved in insuring the first commercial space flight.
Explore our role in the global insurance market in full with our interactive timeline.
