# Eagle Star Insurance

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**The Eagle Star Insurance Company plc** (formerly Eagle Star Insurance Company Limited) was a leading British [insurance](/source/Insurance) business. It underwrote the full range of risks including liability, fire, accident, marine, motor, life, contingency and Pluvius (weather) insurance. It was listed on the [London Stock Exchange](/source/London_Stock_Exchange) and was a constituent of the [FTSE 100 Index](/source/FTSE_100_Index).[1]

## History

The **Eagle Insurance Company** was founded by Sir William Rawlins in 1807. In 1858 it acquired **Albion Life Insurance Company**, which had been founded in 1805.[2]

The **British Dominions Marine Insurance Company** was founded by [Edward Mountain](/source/Sir_Edward_Mountain,_1st_Baronet) in 1904, which operated as a marine insurance office in the five principal overseas dominions.[2]

It started writing fire and accident policies in 1911 and life assurance policies in 1916.[2]

It expanded rapidly in its early years acquiring the Eagle Insurance Company in 1916 and both the **Sceptre Insurance Company** (founded in 1864) and **Star Assurance Society** (founded in 1843, **Star Life Assurance Society** until 1911) in 1917.[2] It was renamed the **Eagle Star and British Dominions** in 1917 and **Eagle Star** in 1937.[2]

For many years its head office was at the prestigious address 1 Threadneedle Street, London EC2. However, a new administrative head office and computer centre was opened in [Cheltenham](/source/Cheltenham) in October 1968.[2]

In 1981 it fought off a takeover bid from [Allianz](/source/Allianz), the [German](/source/Germany) insurance Group.[3]

It was acquired by [BAT Industries](/source/British_American_Tobacco) for £968m in 1984.[2] It continued to trade, under the Eagle Star name, until acquisition by [Zurich Financial Services](/source/Zurich_Financial_Services) in 1999.[4]

In the 1980s, the company supported the [Nature Conservatory](/source/Nature_Conservancy_(UK)) and the [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds](/source/Royal_Society_for_the_Protection_of_Birds) in the successful reintroduction of [sea eagles](/source/Sea_eagle) to Scotland.[5]

## See also

- [Eagle Star Staff Union](/source/Eagle_Star_Staff_Union)
- Syed, Isabel, *Eagle Star A guide to its history and archives*, 1997
- Splater, E.G., *Box 1299*, n/d 1950?

## References

1. ["FTSE: FTSE 100 Constituent Changes"](http://www.ftse.com/products/downloads/FTSE_100_Constituent_history.pdf)

1. ["Eagle Star at Euroarchive"](https://archive.today/20120731014920/http://www.euroarchiveguide.org/database/archives_sourcesd_177.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.euroarchiveguide.org/database/archives_sourcesd_177.htm) on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2009-02-28.

1. ["Sir Denis Mountain: obituary"](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-denis-mountain-bt-521768.html). *The Independent*. 6 January 2006. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110806075321/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-denis-mountain-bt-521768.html) 2011-08-06 at the Wayback Machine.

1. ["Zurich - a new name for Eagle Star"](http://insurance.irishtimes.com/insurance-companies/zurich.html). *Irish Times*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090410192634/http://insurance.irishtimes.com/insurance-companies/zurich.html) 2009-04-10 at the Wayback Machine.

1. Dennis, Roy (2021). *Restoring the Wild*. Collins. p. 41. ISBN 978-0008368814.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eagle Star Insurance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Star_Insurance) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Star_Insurance?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.