Ten Top Insurance Facts

ONE of the consequences of the Great Fire of London, which destroyed much of the city 350 years ago, was that it led to the birth of fire insurance and house insurance in general.

1. After a number of failed fire insurance schemes, the first successful one was The Insurance Office for Houses founded by Nicholas Barbon in 1681.

2. Nicholas Barbon was the business name of Nicholas If-Jesus-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebone.

3. His father was a Puritan named Praise-God Barebone.

4. With great foresight, Christopher Wren included a site for an insurance office in his 1667 plans for rebuilding London after the fire.

5. An early form of insurance was used by Chinese and Babylonian traders around 2500BC.

6. In the US, Starbucks is said to spend more on health insurance than it spends on coffee beans.

7. Alien abduction insurance has been available in the USA since 1987.

8. Actress Betty Grable began a trend in the 1940s when her legs were insured for a million dollars.

9. In 2006, David Beckham was reported to have insured his legs, feet and toes for £100million.

10. About 320,000 people work in insurance in the UK, handling about £1.8trillion of investment.