IT has been an Usage time out of mind amongst Merchants when they have sent out greater Adventures than they have been willing to run the Risque of, to give a Premium to others for them to ensure such part of the Goods as is agreed between them. Heretofore the Assured relied only on the Credit of the Assurers; and if any Differences arose they were usually determined by Merchants appointed (for that purpose) by the Lord Mayor; as it appears by the preamble of the Statute of the 43 Eliz. cap. 12. The Merchants of London being sensible that this manner of Trading by way of As­surance was a very great Incouragement of Traffickers, but finding that there had been several Abuses in it, they Petitioned Queen Elizabeth in the 17th year of her Reign to erect a Publick Office for the Registering of Policies of Assurance; and thereupon the Queen, by her Letters Patents, reciting, That it had been an Antient Custom of Merchants in Lombard-street, and then in the Royal Exchange, to make Policies of Assurance, which were held in great Estimation in most Parts of Christendom; but at that time, for want of a due and orderly keeping of a Register, Merchants had been abused by evil disposed Persons, who assured the same thing in sundry Places. For prevention of those, and the like Abuses, the Queen did appoint Richard Chandler, Maker and Register of all Policies of Assurance, and did provide and declare that all Policies made after the said Grant by any other Person should be void.

This Patent was only during Pleasure, to make an Experiment of the Expediency or Inconveniences of it. The Office conti­nued under that Patent until the 30th year of Queen Elizabeth, and then the Queen reciting that her former Grant had been found greatly Beneficial, and taken good Effect, granted the said Office to Richard Chandler, and one Richardson, for their Lives. Some time after which, at the Solicitation of the Merchants, there was a Statute made (viz. in the 43 of Eliz.) which not only takes notice and allows of the Office, but gives all manner of Incouragement to it, by erecting a Court, and granting great Powers to the Commissioners to enable them to give a quick and easy Recovery to the Insured, when Losses happen. After the death of Richardson, and Chandler, Anno 7th. Ja. primi, this Office was granted to Giles and Walter Overbury for their Lives, and after their Deaths for 31 years, the 3 Car. prim. it was granted to Richard Bogan for 31 years; and the 14 Car. 2. there was another grant of it to Nich. and Tho. Veel for their Lives; both which last mentioned Patents were surrendered to the King the 12 April, 1665. and the Office was granted to Sir Allen Brodrick, and his Assigns, under which grant the present Patentee claims; in every one of these successive Grants there is this Clause (or to this Effect) That every Policy of Assurance, contract of Assurance, Intima­tion, or Renunciation, that shall be made after the date of these Letters Patents, upon any Ship, Goods, or Merchandize, or other the Premises, by any manner of Person or Persons, within the Royal Exchange, or any other Place within the City of London, be­ing not made and registered by Sir Allen Brodrick, and his Assigns, Deputy or Deputies, should be utterly void.

'Tis observable, That this was not only a publick and known Office openly kept ever since its first Erection, but if that re­strictive Clause were publickly taken notice of, as it appears in my Lord Coke's 12 Book of Reports, Folio 117. And yet in the 21th year of K. James, or in the time of K. Charles the First, when there was so great Enquiry after, and means taken to suppress all Patents that tended to Monopolies, this Office was never touched nor looked upon to be such; nay, on the contrary, it has received not only the countenance of the Statute before-mentioned (43 Eliz. cap. 12.) but in the 14th year of the Reign of Car. 2. after near 100 years Experience of the Benefit of it, the Parliament made an Additional Act to the former, giving the Court greater Powers than it had before; and afterwards, in the Act for Rebuilding the City of London, the 19 Car. 2. 'tis provided that Policies made in Gresham House (where the Office was kept for necessity upon that occasion) should be as Authentick as Assurances made in the Antient Office on the Royal Exchange. Which proves not only the Parliaments allowing and approving of the Office, but shews that they thought (as in the Grant expresses) that Policies ought not to be made elsewhere, and were not of Force if not made there, for else there had been no need of that Provision.

Now that this is an Office of great Benefit is certain. It will be for the Advantage of the King in his Revenue; First, by the Incouragement that the Security of dealing will give to Persons to Trade.

By preventing the Shipping of, or transporting Counterband or Prohibited Goods, or the defrauding of the King of his Customs by Mis-entries, to which private Offices give Incouragement, but a publick one would be a means to detect such Deceits.

The Benefit will be great both to the Assurers and Assured (to such 'tis meant as design honestly) and that there may be Secu­rity to both on the Terms agreed on is the intent of the Policy.

As to the Assurers, one very great Mischief to them was, That Persons would assure on Ships with different Persons, and in dif­ferent Places, far beyond the Value of the Goods which they had on Board, and then with confederacy with the Master of the Ship the Ship should be cast away somewhere near Land, and thereby the assured be great Gainers, by their Recovery against all the se­veral Persons, of which there are many and frequent Instances. Which Fraud would be easily detected in a publick Office, were the whole that every Man Assures upon one Ship may be known to the Assured (for whose Benefit the several Acts were chiefly made) It will be of great Advantage; for 'tis an usual thing for Assurers to subscribe Policies for far greater Sums, than (if Losses happen) they are capable of answering. This will in a great measure be prevented by being visible in the Office how far the Person with whom they are treating has under-written, by which they may make a Judgment whether they dealt safely or not.

The ordinary and lowest Rate then currant as a Premium will be known, and so no one need be surprised into the giving Extravagant, or more than the Common Rates then currant.

The Entry of the Policies in the Registry will be good Evidence should the Policies themselves be lost.

There is likewise great Advantages to the Assured in the Recovery of their Moneys, by the Power the Commissioners have to Examine Witnesses beyond Sea, and the speedy Course that is taken by the Court in their Proceedings, the Statute appointing Courts to be kept weekly; which is of great use where Sea-faring Men are generally the Witnesses, who cannot attend the tedious Proceed­ings of Common Law, being required to Sea again before a Tryal be had.

That in many Cases where Insurances have been made in private Offices, and Losses happen thereon, the Assured have been for­ced to take of the Assurers what they please to give them; a half, or less part of their due, by reason of the defect of the Poli­cies; as in the Case of one Captain Saye, where the Policy being imperfect the Loss could not be recovered.

By the Custom of Merchants no Man can recover a Loss till he have first renounced his Interest to the Assurer; and there is no Place where a Renunciation can be legally taken, but in the publick Office of Assurance; and the Office of Assurance can take no Renunciation but of such Policies as are there Registred, and that before notice of the Loss. Therefore the Assurers would be glad the publick Office were discharged, having this Advantage against the Assured.

That in all Places abroad where any Insurances are made, there is no Office for making Policies of Assurance but what is allowed by publick Authority.

This Office is Authorised by the Prerogative of the Crown, and is by Statute Law made a Branch of, and subject to the High Court of Chancery.