London is the leading international insurance center. Lloyd's, the world-famous society of private insurers, was originally established in the 17th century as a center for marine insurance but has since built up a worldwide market for other types of insurance.
The Central Statistical Office (CSO) recently compiled information on institutions whose primary business is the long-term investment of funds in the securities markets. It covers pension funds, insurance companies, investment trusts, unit trusts, and property trusts. Total net investment by institutions in 1994 was £45.4 billion ($69.6 billion), down from the record £51.6 billion in 1993. The biggest net investment by an institutional group was that of the long-term insurance companies, with £24.2 billion of this total.
In the mid-1990s, total life insurance in force came to £1.04 trillion. In the United Kingdom, third-party automobile liability, employers' liability, nuclear facility liability, oil pollution liability, aircraft operators' liability and professional liability is compulsory, with the government having a monopoly on workers' compensation.
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