Lloyd’s of London set to pay £40m after research reveals ‘significant role’ in slave trade

Lloyd’s of London is set to invest £40m in regions that have been affected by the transatlantic slave trade.

The marketplace is making the move after research published yesterday (8 November 2023) showed it ”played a significant role” in the trade and formed ”part of a sophisticated network of financial interests and activities that made these activities possible”.

Bruce Carnegie-Brown, chairman of Lloyd’s, said the world’s largest insurance market was “deeply sorry for this period of our history and the enormous suffering caused to individuals and communities both then and today”.

In addition to its £40m investment, Lloyd’s also plans on investing £12m into its new Inclusive Futures programme to help black and ethnically diverse individuals progress in their careers.

This was shaped in consultation with black experts and ethnically diverse colleagues across the Lloyd’s market.

Research

The research was conducted by Black Beyond Data at Johns Hopkins University and explored Lloyd’s historical links to the transatlantic slave trade.

Available in digital format, it includes a risk document authored by Horatio Clagett, a senior member of Lloyd’s governing committee in the early 19th century.

This document provides underwriting information of more than 60 voyages.

The project was independently funded by the Mellon Foundation and Lloyd’s held no editorial control over the findings. 

Dr Alexandre White, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, said: “The collection of Lloyd’s pertaining to the transatlantic slave trade is a critically important historical resource for understanding the histories of the slave trade and economy.

”Such records are scant and limited and, to our knowledge, some of these materials are likely the only of their kind.

”These materials also shed light on the ways that slavery and the slave trade shaped the City of London.”