North British and Mercantile Insurance [SEP] dissolved or abolished
North British and Mercantile Insurance
The North British and Mercantile Insurance Company was a British-based company founded in 1809 in Edinburgh and absorbed as a subsidiary of the Commercial Union in 1959. The company was also known as the North British Insurance Company, North British Fire Office and North British Fire Insurance Company.
History.
The company was established after a meeting on 17 April 1809 at the Royal Exchange Coffee House, when a notice was placed in newspapers in Edinburgh announcing a proposal to found a fire insurance company called
the North British Insurance Company. A contract of copartnery was issued on 19 October 1809 allowing a capital of £1 million and the new company commenced business on 11 November. In 1823 the company extended its business to include life insurance. The company, successfully trading and growing, was granted a royal charter on 6 February 1824, in the expectation that the permitted capital would be exceeded.
In 1862 the company merged with the Mercantile Fire Insurance Company and changed its name to North British & Mercantile Insurance Company. From 1890