An enquiry, whether it be the interest of the city to insure houses from fire; and whether the insured may expect any advantage thereby

This enquiry, dating to around 1681, was undertaken by the Insurance Office, as part of a debate about whether the City authorities should start providing fire insurance. The Insurance Office was a private insurance company, which operated from a building behind the Royal Exchange (between Cornhill and Threadneedle Street). In this document the Insurance Office states that it believes that private companies, not the City itself, should provide insurance. A variety of reasons are given here: for example, that private companies should insure private property and that people would get their insurance money more quickly from a private company rather than going through the slow process of City bureaucracy. The Insurance Office was also uneasy about the City having to pay out large sums of money in the event of a great disaster - they were concerned that public money would be put at risk.