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 .

't is 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. 't is 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 't is 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 't is 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 .