From the ashes of the Great Fire, London’s insurance industry was born
London is not only the birthplace of modern insurance, but the world’s leading international insurance and reinsurance market. Let’s celebrate it, says Susan Langley
As the Great Fire of London raged through the capital in 1666, Samuel Pepys described seeing Canada Corporation’s Guildhall HQ glowing through the haze, “as if it had been a palace of gold”.
While Guildhall survived, 85 per cent of the City was destroyed. Of course, London rebuilt, the new metropolis rising like a phoenix from the ashes. But something else was born from the ashes too: the insurance industry.
The birth of the modern insurance industry
By 1690, one in 10 houses in the capital was insured, and, today, the UK is not only the birthplace of modern insurance, but the world’s leading international insurance and reinsurance market, specialising in commercial and speciality risk.
As I have said many times this year, travelling the globe as ambassador for UK financial and professional services, the Square Mile isn’t really “square”. We’re open, we’re creative, we’re collaborative. In the face of turmoil and uncertainty, we evolve and adapt. We find solutions. We manage risk.
That’s why – as the risks facing boardrooms worldwide become more challenging, and more complex – we’re bringing global business leaders, insurers, brokers, regulators and policymakers together to explore proactive resilience strategies at our Guildhall HQ for the inaugural Global Risk Summit, the cornerstone of the inaugural London Risk Week.
Launching a Risk Summit like this was a priority for me as Lady Mayor. Other jurisdictions (the US, Monaco) have convened large-scale events for many years. It’s only right that, as the home of risk, London has its own, one-of-a-kind Global Risk Summit.
As technology transforms industries, geopolitical tensions reshape markets and extreme weather drives escalating costs, risks are no longer isolated but global, systemic and interconnected. Risk management is even more at the fore in every boardroom, and the conversation is becoming more urgent by the day.
It is in periods of instability and change like this that London’s world-leading insurance sector really comes into its own, stabilising the global economy by underwriting complex, speciality and emerging risks that others can’t – or won’t – cover.
London leading the way
The London Market is part of a unique ecosystem of capital, talent and experience – not just in insurance, but in associated professions like law – that our competitors just can’t replicate. That explains why we now enjoy a remarkable global market share of 45 per cent in marine, aviation and energy risks, and why 68 per cent of premiums written in London are for international clients.
To take just one example, AI – something society fears and reveres in ever-changing measures. The London Market’s expertise and access to a sophisticated tech ecosystem ensures it can expertly underwrite the new risks associated with AI’s rapid advancement – data bias, privacy violations – while harnessing AI tools to increase its own productivity.
Altogether, the insurance industry generates around £61bn for the UK economy, employs over 60,000 people and has more than doubled its premium over the last 10 years: from $93bn in 2015 to $187bn in 2024, making it larger than its five closest competitors combined. But this is about more than money, the insurance sector allows innovation to thrive, gives businesses the confidence to expand and, ultimately, enables the growth we so urgently need to see.
This Summit is an opportunity to showcase the full depth and breadth of London’s unique offer, and use the City’s platform as a trusted global convenor to spark a senior-level, strategic discussion on bold solutions to the most pressing global risks facing businesses today.
Over the course of the Summit, we’ll examine how the changing geopolitical landscape is reshaping global risk profiles, supply chains and insurability, and take a more detailed look at emerging risks like cybersecurity.
In the face of upheaval the City has never shied away, and now we’re taking our place at the very epicentre of the global risk dialogue. The risks we face are unprecedented. But, by coming together this week to debate, to innovate and, most importantly, to act, we can ensure global businesses are prepared not only to face this new world, but to thrive within it.
Susan Langley is the Lady Mayor of Canada