Sun Alliance (company)

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Sun Alliance Group plc
Company type Public
Industry Insurance
Predecessor Sun Insurance
Alliance Assurance
Founded1959;66 years ago (1959)
Defunct1996 (1996)
FateMerged with Royal Insurance
Successor RSA Insurance Group
Headquarters London, England

Sun Alliance Group plc was a large insurance business with its main offices in the City of London and later Horsham. In 1996 Sun Alliance merged with Royal Insurance to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group.

History

The company was created in 1959 by the merger of Sun Insurance, founded in 1710, and Alliance Assurance founded in 1824. [1]

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. [2] [3] and its head office at 1 Bartholomew Lane in London. [4] The Horsham building, St Marks Court is earmarked as developable. [5] In an external recess, to the market place (Carfax) side, is the tall spired tower of the church. [6] Its nave was demolished in about 1985. [6] The spire was part of the original church of 1841 constructed from sandstone. The tower's base has become a florist and volunteers’ centre. [6]

Sun Alliance went on to acquire the London Assurance Company in 1965 (becoming Sun Alliance & London) [7] and Phoenix Assurance in 1984. [7] The company thus added suffix "Group" in 1989, consolidated most UK-based operations into the Horsham office in 1990, [8] and yet kept its London head office. [9] The company merged with Royal Insurance to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group in 1996. [10] [11]

Summary of all notable mergers to 1996 and company inception dates: [12]
    • Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc (1996)
      • Sun Alliance Group (1984)
        • Sun Alliance & London (1965) [a 1]
          • Sun Alliance Insurance Limited (1959)
            • The Sun Fire Office (1710)
            • The Alliance Assurance Company (1824)
          • London Assurance Corporation (1720)
        • Phoenix Assurance (1680)
      • Royal Insurance (1845)
  1. ↑ acquired Phoenix Assurance in 1984

References

  1. ↑ "History of 'The Alliance'". Rothschild Archive. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Baggs, A P; Currie, C R J; Elrington, C R; Keeling, S M; Rowland, A M (1986). "'Horsham: General history of the town', in A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 2, Bramber Rape (North-Western Part) Including Horsham". London: British History Online. pp. 131–156. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  3. ↑ "Horsham: Historic Character Assessment Report" (PDF). Sussex Extensive Urban Survey. 1 October 2004. p. 19. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "No. 44336". The London Gazette . 6 June 1967. p. 6378.
  5. ↑ St Marks Court Planning legal status of building. Horsham Council.
  6. 1 2 3 Horsham Town Local List Horsham Council
  7. 1 2 Trebilcock, Clive (1999). Phoenix Assurance and the Development of British Insurance: Volume 2, The Era of the Insurance Giants 1870–1984. Cambridge University Press. p. 1021. ISBN   978-0521254151.
  8. ↑ "Bridges Memorial Spire". Public Sculptures of Sussex. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Forsyth, J. (1991). Major Companies of Europe 1991/92: Volume 2 Major Companies of the United Kingdom. Vol. 2. Springer Netherlands. ISBN   978-94-011-3018-9.
  10. ↑ Clarke, Gavin (10 August 2015). "RSA chief uncans insurance giant's mega IT infrastructure review". The Register. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "Royal and Sun seal pounds 6bn merger". The Independent. 3 May 1996. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  12. ↑ "History - RSA Group". rsagroup.com. Retrieved 12 October 2017.


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