Commercial Union plc was a large insurance business based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It merged with General Accident in 1998 to form CGU plc.

History

Commercial Union was established following a conflagration near

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

in 1861, known as the Great Tooley Street Fire, which destroyed a number of warehouses and wharves along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

as a result of which the fire insurance companies were hit by a series of massive claims. Consequently, they increased their fire insurance rates so dramatically that a group of local merchants and brokers decided to form their own company. This became known as the Commercial Union Assurance Company.Liveing, Edward. '' A Century of Insurance: The Commercial Union Assurance Group 1861 - 1961''. London: H F & G Witherby, 1961 The company established its head office at 24-26 Cornhill in London in 1897. It purchased the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society, the world's oldest fire insurance company, in 1905 and The Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation in 1910 and it continued to grow by further acquisitions. The acquisition of the British General Insurance Company followed in 1926. Then, after completing the acquisition of North British and Mercantile Insurance, which had significant operations in the United States, in 1959, Commercial Union moved to larger and more modern facilities at St. Helen's in London in 1969. With the intention of expanding its activities in continental Europe, it acquired the Dutch insurance business, Delta Lloyd Group, in 1973 and the French insurance business, L'Epargne de France in 1984. The company merged with General Accident to form CGU plc in 1998.

Coat of Arms

The

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

granted the following coat of arms to the Commercial Union:

References

{{Authority control Aviva Financial services companies established in 1861 Insurance companies of the United Kingdom Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange 1861 establishments in the United Kingdom Financial services companies disestablished in 1998 1998 disestablishments in the United Kingdom