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The Phoenix Assurance Company Limited was an English insurance company that existed from 1782 to 1984.


History

The history of the company includes the nostalgia of red-coated attendants clattering to the fires of London on horse-drawn tenders.Clive Aslet, The Times, 10 September 1983, ''Picturing the past frame by frame'' The Phoenix figured in
case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is a law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of ...
. In 1796, the company refused to pay damages awarded of £3,000 (''2021: £'') following a 1792 fire at a house in
Tavistock Street Tavistock Street is a street in the Covent Garden area of London which runs parallel to the Strand, London, Strand between Drury Lane and Southampton Street just south of the market piazza. History Initially, the street was a passageway between ...
, London. Phoenix claimed that the owners had failed to obtain a certificate from the ministers and
churchwardens A churchwarden is a laity, lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglicanism, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism, Lutheran Churches or Catholicism, Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holde ...
of the parish affirming the good character of the victims. Phoenix issued a
writ of error A writ of ''coram nobis'' (also writ of error ''coram nobis'', writ of ''coram vobis'', or writ of error ''coram vobis'') is a legal order allowing a court to correct its original judgment upon discovery of a fundamental error that did not appear ...
to appeal against the original decision.
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
, 8 June 1796; Law Report.
Court of King's Bench The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the '' curia regis'', the King's Bench initi ...
, June 7., Phoenix Fire Office Phoenix diversified into
life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...
, establishing the Pelican Life Office in 1797. In 1907 Phoenix reabsorbed Pelican Life Assurance, at that time known as the Pelican and British Empire Life Office, becoming a composite insurer. The company built a new head office at 3-7 King William Street, erected in 1915, on a design by
John Macvicar Anderson John Macvicar Anderson (11 July 1835, Glasgow – 9 June 1915, London) was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow in 1835, the son of John Anderson, merchant and the nephew of architect William Burn and his wife, Eliza Macvicar. He was ...
and his son
Henry Lennox Anderson John Macvicar Anderson (11 July 1835, Glasgow – 9 June 1915, London) was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow in 1835, the son of John Anderson, merchant and the nephew of architect William Burn and his wife, Eliza Macvicar. He was ...
. It was known as Phoenix House while the seat of the company from 1915 to 1983; the name later went to another building at No. 18 in the same street. Sun Alliance & London acquired Phoenix Assurance in 1984. In 2004, Resolution Life acquired the life operations of RSA. The following year, Resolution acquired the UK operations of
Swiss Life The Swiss Life Group is the largest life insurance company of Switzerland and one of Europe’s leading comprehensive life and pensions and financial services providers, with approximately CHF 255.7 bn of assets under management. Founded in 1857 ...
, and merged RSA and Swiss into a new group called Phoenix Life. In 2008, Pearl Group acquired Resolution, and in 2010 Pearl renamed itself
Phoenix Group Phoenix Group Holdings plc is a provider of insurance services based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was founded in 1857 as The Pearl Loan Company an ...
.Louise Armitstead, "Hugh Osmond's Pearl rises from the ashes as Phoenix," ''The Daily Telegraph'', (19 February 2010), 5.


References


Further reading

* Trebilcock, Clive. '' Phoenix Assurance and the Development of British Insurance. Volume I: 1782-1870''. (Cambridge University Press, 1985). * Trebilcock, Clive. '' Phoenix Assurance and the Development of British Insurance. Volume II: The Era of the Insurance Giants, 1870-1984''. (Cambridge University Press, 1998).


External links

{{Commonscatinline
Phoenix Assurance Company: Records and Papers
a
Cambridge University Library
Financial services companies established in 1680 Financial services companies established in the 17th century Defunct fire and rescue services of England Insurance companies of the United Kingdom Organizations established in the 1680s 1680 establishments in England