The Equitable Life Assurance Society - History

History

The Society, established via a Deed of Trust in September 1762 with the name of the “Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorships” offered both whole life and fixed term policies. Premiums which were constant for the duration of the policy, were based on a method devised by the mathematician James Dodson using mortality figures for Northampton and the amount payable on death, the basic sum assured was guaranteed, a major advantage at the time. As Dodson had died 5 years earlier, Edward Rowe Mores became its chief executive officer with the title of actuary, the first use of the term though he was an administrator rather than a statistician. The first modern actuary, William Morgan was appointed in 1775 serving until 1830. In 1776 the Society carried out the first actuarial valuation of liabilities and subsequently distributed the first reversionary bonus (1781) and interim bonus (1809) among its members. It also used regular valuations to balance competing interests. Its products therefore met the description of a modern With-profits policy.

The Society sought to treat its members equitably and the Directors tried to ensure that the policyholders received a fair return on their respective investments. Throughout the Society’s history, the annual allocation of bonuses was a carefully thought through decision based on actuarial advice designed to promote fairness and equality between current policyholders and between different generations of policyholders.

Its method were successful enough for it to be able to reduce its premiums by 10% in 1777 and a further reduction was forthcoming in 1781. By 1799 the Society had assets of £4m and its 5,000 membership subsequently doubled to 10,000 in 1810.
Famous 19th Century policyholders included Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wilberforce and Sir Walter Scott.
In 1870, the Life Assurance Companies Act was passed "requiring all life offices to publish financial data on the lines so long followed by the Equitable."

In the 20th Century, Henry Manly devised the concept and theory of staff pensions which the Society marketed from 1913. Pensions became available to the self-employed in 1957 when the Society launched the Retirement annuity plan. Corporate pension scheme members included the NHS, Unilever and the Post Office.