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Thomas Bignold (1761–1835) was an English businessman. He was the founder of Norwich Union, now known as Aviva plc, one of the United Kingdom's largest insurance businesses.
Career[edit]
Born in Westerham, Kent, Thomas Bignold worked as an exciseman before moving to Norwich in the early 1780s.[1] He became a wine and spirit merchant in 1785.[2] In 1792, he was appointed secretary of the Norwich General Assurance Company.[1]
He left Norwich General Assurance in 1797 to found the Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society with support from local shopkeepers.[1] He appointed 500 local agents who helped him to expand the geographic coverage of the business; growth was also driven by his practice of offering profit sharing to fire insurance policy holders. He went on to found the Norwich Union Life Insurance Society in 1808.[1]
After 1815, the post-war recession started to bite[3] and claims against the Society increased and he initially resisted many of those claims — some legitimately but others not. Eventually, his sons collaborated with the other directors to force him to retire.[1]
In retirement,[4] "Bignold's situation had deteriorated and his eccentricity may have crossed the border with insanity. He had been made bankrupt and incarcerated in a debtor’s prison. He had taken an interest in the shoe industry, patenting the invention of revolving heels for ladies' shoes."[5]
He was a churchwarden and freeman grocer. He died in 1835.[1]
Family[edit]
By 1785 he had married Sarah Long and together they went on to have three sons and three daughters.[1] His youngest son, Samuel, was his successor and later a Member of Parliament.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g Thomas Bignold at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Norwich since 1550 By Carole Rawcliffe, Richard Wilson, Christine Clark, Page 365
- ^ Norwich since 1550 by Carole Rawcliffe, Richard Wilson & Christine Clark, p. 366
- ^ New Reports of Cases Heard in the House of Lords, on Appeals and Writs of Error by Richard Bligh, p. 727
- ^ "The Incredible Story of the Man who founded Norwich Union". Greatbritishlife.co.uk. Accessed 26 December 2022.
- ^ Dod, Robert P. (1860). The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Whitaker and Co. p. 118.
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