Lloyd’s of London has agreed to invest £52m in racial equality initiatives in recognition of its “significant role” in the transatlantic slave trade.
The world’s largest insurance market on Wednesday unveiled plans to support black and other ethnic minority people in work and education after new research revealed the extent of Lloyd’s historical links to slavery.
However, the London-based institution has resisted calls to pay direct reparations to the descendants of slaves, arguing the lack of documentation made it “impossible” to identify all those affected.
John Hopkins University in the US examined the “significant role” that the London marketpace played in enabling the slave trade between the 17th and 19th centuries.
The research, published on Wednesday, discovered that many individuals working in the insurance marketplace used their expertise and influence to develop and defend slavery systems.
Archival documents also revealed that several senior figures at Lloyd’s were enslavers themselves and absentee owners of slave plantations. John Hopkins’ research was independently funded by arts and humanities charity the Mellon Foundation.
Lloyd’s had already apologised for its “inexcusable” part in the Atlantic slave trade in 2020 and The Telegraph revealed at the time that it was preparing to fund diversity initiatives and charities supporting black people and ethnic minorities. Wednesday marks the first time it has given details on those funding promises.
The London-based institution has resisted calls to pay direct reparations to the descendants of slaves
Credit: Eddie Mulholland
Bruce Carnegie-Brown, chairman of Lloyd’s, said: “I don’t think we can undo the wrongs of the past, but we can take action to address the impacts which are still seen today. And racial inequality is one of those impacts in UK society and around the world.”
Lloyd’s will spend about £12m funding initiatives supporting the careers of black and ethnically diverse people in insurance.
It will also invest $50m (£40.8m) aimed at boosting growth within communities affected by historical enslavement. The money will be split equally between two funds operated by the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Lloyd’s was founded in a coffee shop near the banks of River Thames in 17th-century London and grew into a global centre for shipping insurance, underwriting trafficked people as part of a ship’s cargo.
It is estimated that 3.2 million enslaved African people were transported by Britain’s shipping industry.
John Hopkins’ research – overseen by an advisory board composed of black British academics, historians and activists – does not specify how many of these individuals can be linked back to Lloyd’s.
Mr Carnegie-Brown said: “The documentation is extremely fragmented and so it is impossible to aggregate it into a number or even a range of numbers.”
The research, over which Lloyd’s had no editorial control, also did not attempt to identify or contact the descendants of enslaved people named in the documents.
Lloyd’s is understood to have previously struggled to identify who would directly receive reparations, despite recent demands from Caribbean leaders for direct financial payments from institutions with historical ties to slavery.
Mark Lomas, head of culture at Lloyd’s, added: “We’re aware that no one can properly atone for the past. But what we have done is set out a framework that we believe will make sustainable change over a long term period.”
Lloyd’s has also launched a programme of diversity initiatives and investments over the next decade, called Inclusive Futures.
These include investments into early career support schemes and employability charities aimed at attracting thousands of Black and ethnically diverse individuals into the insurance industry.
Lloyd’s will also create a mentoring and sponsorship programme to help talent progress to boardroom positions and provide bursaries to support black and minority ethnic students at university.
Mr Carnegie-Brown said these schemes were designed to create the “the same opportunities as certainly I had coming into the world of finance, the City and insurance”.