The market began in Lloyd's Coffee House, owned by Edward Lloyd, some time in 1686 on Tower Street in the City of London. This establishment was a popular place for sailors, merchants, and ship-owners, and Lloyd catered to them with reliable shipping news. The coffee house soon became recognised as an ideal place for obtaining marine insurance.

Origin. The organisation was named after a 17th-century coffee house in London that was frequented by merchants, marine underwriters, and others, all men associated with shipping. The coffee house owner, Edward Lloyd, helped them to exchange information by circulating a printed sheet of all the news he heard.In 1760, the Register Society was formed by the customers of …