The history of the world’s oldest insurance company dates back to 1688 when ship owners began to meet with people interested in providing ship insurance at the Edward Lloyd’s coffee house in London. The first Lloyd’s management team was established in 1771, whereas in 1811 the statute of the association was adopted. In 1871 the Lloyd’s corporation was appointed by the British parliament. In 1880 Lloyd’s issued the first reinsurance policy on the U.S. risks and in 1925 the foundations for the Central Fund were laid.

One of the key decisions involved immediate compensation payments to all of the Lloyd’s policy holders affected by the earthquake in San Francisco, 1906. This strategic move contributed to rise of Lloyd’s strong position in the USA and formed rules which are followed to date. Currently, USA and Canada are Lloyd’s biggest markets. The last twenty-year period also constituted a turning point for the association, since Lloyd’s had to manage a series of incidents involving gigantic compensation payments. These included: explosion at the Piper Alpha oil rig in the North Sea, 1988; devastating hurricanes: Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne in 2004, hurricane Katrina in 2005; environmental disasters, mass claims associated with harmful effect of asbestos, etc. Lloyd’s successfully completed these challenges.