In memoriam: Andrew Beazley

As a leading figure in the London markets and founder of Lloyd’s insurer Beazley Group, Beazley’s career has spanned some of the most tumultuous periods in Lloyd’s history.

Robert Hiscox has spoken of his intense admiration of Beazley’s skills in his early days working in the Lloyd’s market. And some twenty-four years ago, after many late-night meetings, Hiscox finally convinced Beazley to go out on his own.

Beazley group was founded by Hiscox, Andrew Beazley and Nick Furlonge in 1986 in a small City office with a battered hat stand and a borrowed computer. After buying out Hiscox, Beazley and Furlonge built a successful company that employs 720 people and has recorded a profit every year since it was founded.

Furlonge said: “Beazley Group has grown and prospered beyond our wildest dreams twenty four years ago, but it has remained a close knit company. Andrew was a close friend and colleague to many of us and his inimitable humour, charisma and style will be remembered by all of us.”

To Hiscox, Beazley was more than just a good insurer. “Not only was Andrew a good liability underwriter, but he also did his bit for the industry by sitting on committees. He is one of the few men who, when sat on a committee at Lloyd’s, is not thinking: ‘How does this affect me if I vote for this?”

But Hiscox said what he admired most about Beazley was his resemblance Hiscox’s own father – both charming, charismatic, Lloyd’s committee men who cared a great deal for society. “Andrew was a man who looked for what was best for the community and society, not just Beazley. They are rare, those beasts.”

“He was a man of integrity and total decency. It is more than a pity that he, of all the people, has to die young,” said Hiscox.

Andrew is survived by his wife, Anne, and three children, Christopher, Emma and Nicholas.