Lloyd’s People: Their Social Composition and Political Economy

There was a strange duality about Lloyd’s in the twentieth century. On the one hand, it demonstrated an impressive capacity for product innovation and underwriting flexibility. On the other hand, Lloyd’s was also widely regarded as an elitist old boys’ club with arcane rules and opaque practices. An analysis of the social composition of Lloyd’s, and the political and economic outlook of its working members and leaders, reveals its hierarchical and highly conservative character. There was a tradition of informal learning on the job and a disdain for formal education that proved hard to change. It was believed that competence should not be subject to external regulation or monitoring, but should only be assessed by the practitioners themselves. Self-regulation, freedom of trade and non-interference in the independence of underwriters and brokers were the core principles of Lloyd’s and defended to the hilt.