Rawlings on the Great Fire of London and the Origins of Fire Insurance

Philip Rawlings, Queen Mary University of London School of Law, has published The Great Fire of London and the Origins of Fire Insurance: A Brief Note as Queen Mary School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 246/2016. Here is the abstract.

The Great Fire of London in 1666 reshaped the architecture of London and was a factor in establishing the City as a place of financial innovation. Fire insurance did not emerge immediately after that event because of the difficulties in establishing a viable scheme. Nevertheless, the fire and the enthusiasm for financial speculation brought various experiments that eventually led to relatively sophisticated fire insurance schemes.

Download the essay from SSRN at the link.