Clerical Medical (1824- )
Early days
Dr George Pinckard, Chairman and Director, 1824-1835
In the spring of 1824, Dr George Pinckard, a physician from Bloomsbury Square, London, gathered together a committee of medical and clerical gentleman and issued a pamphlet entitled: 'Prospectus for the Establishment of a new Assurance Office with Improved Arrangements'. The promised improvements included lower rates and coverage extended to those suffering from conditions such as gout and asthma.
At a general meeting held on 18 June, the 'Medical, Clerical and General Life Assurance Society' was born. With Dr George Pinckard presiding as Chairman various appointments were made, including the Marquis of Huntly as President, and Mr Joseph Pinckard - brother of Dr George Pinckard - as Resident Secretary and Actuary. The directors, including eight medical gentlemen, were also appointed and empowered to seek suitable business premises and draw up a code of rules and regulations for the government of the Society.
The first policy
Clerical Medical's first policy, issued to Richard Pinckard
The Society's first Board meeting was held on 23 June 1824 at 32 Russell Square, and business hours were established as 10am to 4pm - Sundays, Christmas Day and Good Friday excepted.
Shortly afterwards the Society received its first application for life assurance, from Mr Richard Pinckard, nephew of Dr George Pinckard. The policy, for £500, included some notable restrictions, including not travelling beyond the limits of Europe, or travelling by sea without licence from the directors. The policy would also be void if Richard Pinckard was to 'die by duelling'. In the event, he did none of these things, but the Society still made a loss of over £200 on the policy following Richard Pinckard's premature death in 1846.
The first year of business saw the total income for the Society amount to £1,960, with 52 life assurance policies granted, assuring a total of £44,300. Within a few years, business had grown to £200,000 a year, and in 1832, Clerical Medical declared its first bonus. Since then, it has declared bonuses to its with-profits policyholders every year – despite outbreaks of cholera, two World Wars and stock market crashes.
Spreading the word
The early promotion of Clerical Medical was undertaken in a variety of ways, including newspaper advertisements and circulars sent to members of the professional classes. The Society also engaged in the innovative system of using 'Travellers' – or salesmen - who criss-crossed the country to recruit policy holders and advertise the society.
'Outdoor Staff' - Clerical Medical travelling salesmen, 1924
In 1855, Clerical Medical moved from Bloomsbury to Lichfield House in St James's Square. Some years later, additional offices were opened in the City of London in 1873, and in February 1888, the first branch office was opened in Manchester. Further branches were opened later in Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol and Newcastle.
Growth and mergers
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Clerical Medical advert from the 1940s
In 1913, Clerical Medical acquired the General Reversionary and Investment Company, and then in 1920 merged with The Employers’ Liability Assurance Corporation. Clerical Medical continued to operate independently however and regained full independence when the Employers’ Liability Assurance Corporation merged with the Northern Assurance Company in 1960. In 1961 Clerical Medical became a mutual office by an Act of Parliament.
In the 1970s, the company outgrew its head office premises in St James's Square, and made the decision to relocate to Bristol in 1975.
By the early 1990s, Clerical Medical employed over 2500 staff, and managed assets totalling some £15 billion. In 1995, the decision was taken to 'demutualise' and to offer Clerical Medical for sale to another financial institution. In 1996, Clerical Medical merged with the Halifax, and subsequently became part of HBOS plc in 2001.
Further information
Further information
• 'Our Centenary: being the history of the first hundred years of the Clerical, Medical and General Life Assurance Society' by A. D. Besant (London, 1924).
• 'The Employers Liability Assurance Corporation, Limited. Jubilee, 1930' by Sir H. P. Robinson (London, 1930)
• An extensive archive of material relating to Clerical Medical is maintained by HBOS Group Archives.
• Records and artefacts relating to Clerical Medical are also on display in the Museum on the Mound 
in our corporate headquarters.
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