The creation of Property Insurance
Tomorrow marks 351 years since the creation of Property Insurance following the Great Fire of London on 2nd Sept 1666.
13,200 homes were destroyed over 5 days costing an estimated £10Mil worth of damage at the time with the equivalent cost in 2017 sitting at £1.1Bil
This saw the creation of the first ‘Insurance Office’ in 1667 but several early schemes failed to get off the ground and it wasn’t until 1681 that the ‘Insurance Office for Houses’ founded by Nicholas Barbon saw success with 5000 London homes being insured by his firm.
By 1690, 1 in 10 Londoners has a Property Insurance policy in place.
So what if Insurance had existed in 1666?
Initial claims would have been logged with the insurance companies for the fire damage for each property affected. Each individual Property Insurer would have paid out for the fire damage but they would look to pursue the policyholder who started the fire, in this instance the baker. The bakers Property Insurer would then look to reimburse the other Property Insurers for their costs as it was their client who was ultimately responsible.
What actually happened?
As most properties at the time were rented from large estates and not owned outright it was the responsibility of the tenants to repair any damage aswell as continuing to pay rent while their homes were rebuilt. This because a significant issue and resulted in an emergency ‘Fire Court’ being established to regulate disputes as to who was responsible for funding the rebuilds.
Property Insurance in the modern age
These days Property Insurance or Landlords Insurance has evolved to include nearly all major risks that a property could face such as Fire, Lightening, Flood, Escape of Water, Accidental Damage and Subsidence.
Unlike the underwriters in 1666 the insurance industry now has access to a vast arrange of tools and databases to assist them in calculating the risk a property could present including:
Clarke Williams are experts in Property Owners Insurance for both Residential and Commercial Properties and provide unique solutions for our clients using our experience, insurer relationships and understanding of risk management features.
For a comprehensive review of your Property Insurance contact the team today on 01732 252898 or for more information visit our Property Owners
