Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Insurance |
Predecessor | Sun Insurance Alliance Assurance |
Founded | 1959 |
Defunct | 1996 |
Fate | Merged with Royal Insurance |
Successor | RSA Insurance Group |
Headquarters | London |
Sun Alliance Group plc was a large insurance business with its main offices in the City of London and later Horsham. It was created in 1959 by the merger of Sun Insurance, founded in 1710, and Alliance Assurance founded in 1824. In 1996 Sun Alliance merged with Royal Insurance to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group.
In the mid-1960s Sun Alliance established its administrative centre in a large office block, spanning an A-road through the town centre of Horsham, a railway town 31 miles (50 km) south of London's centre. [1] [2] and its head office at 1 Bartholomew Lane in London. [3] The Horsham building, St Marks Court is earmarked as developable. [4] In an external recess, to the market place (Carfax) side, is the tall spired tower of the church. [5] Its nave was demolished in about 1985. [5] The spire was part of the original church of 1841 constructed from sandstone. The tower's base has become a florist and volunteers’ centre. [5]
Sun Alliance went on to acquire the London Assurance Company in 1965 (becoming Sun Alliance & London) [6] and Phoenix Assurance in 1984. [6] The company thus added suffix "Group" in 1989, consolidated most UK-based operations into the Horsham office in 1990, [7] and yet kept its London head office. [8] The company merged with Royal Insurance to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group in 1996. [9]
Summary of all notable mergers to 1996 and company inception dates: [10]
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Crawley is a town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is 28 miles (45 km) south of London, 18 miles (29 km) north of Brighton and Hove, and 32 miles (51 km) north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of 17.36 square miles (44.96 km2) and had a population of 118,493 at the time of the 2021 Census.
Swiss Re Ltd is a Swiss reinsurance company founded in 1863 and headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the world's largest reinsurers, as measured by gross premiums written. Swiss Re operates through around 80 offices in 29 countries and employs over 14,000 people. It was ranked 519th on the Forbes Global 2000 list and ranked 316th on the Fortune Global 500 in 2023. Swiss Re is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
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RSA Insurance Group Limited is a British multinational general insurance company headquartered in London, England. RSA has major operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia and Canada. It provides insurance products and services in more than 100 countries through a network of local partners. It has 9 million customers. RSA was formed by the merger of Sun Alliance and Royal Insurance in 1996.
Royal Insurance Holdings plc was a large insurance business originating in Liverpool but based in London from the early 20th century. It merged with Sun Alliance in 1996 to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group.
Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is 31 miles (50 km) south south-west of London, 18.5 miles (30 km) north-west of Brighton and 26 miles (42 km) north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Crawley to the north-east and Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill to the south-east. It is the administrative centre of the Horsham district.
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Phoenix Assurance or Phoenix Fire Office was a fire insurance company founded in 1680 in England.
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123 Money Ltd, trading as 123.ie, is an Irish insurance company with registered offices in Dublin. It sells personal insurance products online, including motor, home, health and life insurance. It became a subsidiary of RSA Insurance Ireland Ltd. in 2010 and it is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. In 2012, it reported sales worth €91 million and 270 employees.
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Pelican and British Empire Life Insurance Company was a British life insurance company. It was established in 1797 by Phoenix Assurance as the Pelican Life Office, later the Pelican Life Assurance Company, before merging with British Empire Mutual Life Assurance in 1903 to become the Pelican and British Empire Life Insurance Company.
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