( also Lloyd’s )
an association of people in the City of London who provide insurance. These members, known as ‘names’, share the profits and also the risks involved. The first members used to meet at Edward Lloyd’s coffee house in the late 17th century. They were originally concerned with insuring ships, but now deal with insurance of all kinds all over the world. In the early 1990s Lloyd’s had to make a number of very large payments to people who were insured with them, with the result that the ‘names’ lost a lot of money.
See also Lutine bell .