Edward Lloyd opened a coffee shop near the River Thames in the 1680s - it became a place where ship owners and money men rubbed shoulders and a trade in marine insurance sprang up. The coffee-drinking insurers eventually decided to form an association and agree on a set of rules - and so Lloyd's of London was born. It became a key factor in keeping the global sea trade going, but soon branched out into insuring against burglaries, hurricanes and even earthquakes. Lloyds developed a principle that seems odd today. It ignored the small print and said: "Pay all our policy holders in full, irrespective of the terms of their policies.” Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.