| Former type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Insurance |
| Fate | Merged with Norwich Union |
| Successor | Aviva plc |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
CGU plc was a large insurance group, created by the merger of Commercial Union and General Accident. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
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The Company was created by the 1998 merger of Commercial Union and General Accident.[1]
Commercial Union was established following a conflagration in London's dockland in 1861, known as the Great Tooley Street Fire, which destroyed a number of warehouses and wharves along the River Thames 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 Ltd.[1]
It purchased the Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society, the world's oldest fire insurance company, in 1905[1] and the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation Ltd. in 1910 and it continued to grow by further acquisitions.[2]
General Accident was a financial services firm formed by several mergers and acquisitions over several years. the General Accident and Employers' Liability Assurance Association Ltd. was founded in Perth, Scotland in 1885. It became the General Accident Assurance Corporation Ltd. in 1891.[3]
General Accident acquired Yorkshire Insurance Company Ltd. in 1967. All general insurance business was relocated to Perth, with York becoming the center for the new firm's life assurance and pensions business.[1]
General Accident acquired Stevenage-based Provident Mutual Life Assurance Association in 1995, merging it with the GA Life and Pensions business as Provident Mutual Life Assurance Ltd. York became the centre of all life assurance business and Stevenage of all pensions business.[1]
The Company merged with Norwich Union in 2000 to form CGNU plc, later renamed Aviva plc.[4]
In the US, the CGU casualty and property businesses were purchased by White Mountains Insurance Group; the name of the Company has since changed to OneBeacon Insurance Company.[5]