Coming Soon! 'Powered by the Industrial Revolution' the latest Insurance Museum online exhibition

The next online exhibition by the Insurance Museum is Powered by the Industrial Revolution which is due to be launched this summer, continues the story of Fire Insurance, from 1760 through to the early 1820s.

The Industrial Revolution changed the geo-political and economic landscape of Britain especially in northern towns and cities, such as Manchester, Leeds, and Nottingham. From the mid-18th century through to the mid-19th century, industry boomed, and urban areas quickly developed on a large scale. In fact, by the mid-19th century, Britain was known as the ‘Workshop of the World’.

The new technologies resulted in an explosion of materials and goods that had previously been only for the rich. They were now produced cheaply and on a large scale. With the technological developments, there were often new unknown risks. For example, complex cotton mills were built with larger spinning mules and water frames. With the nature of the process, the raw materials at hand, and the friction of the moving parts in the machines, fires were a frequent occurrence.

The emergence of these new complicated fire hazards posed a challenge to the established fire insurance practices, which were beginning to look not fit for purpose. Insurance developed hand in hand with the Industrial Revolution. As the understanding of how fire starts and spreads, predicting and dealing with fire became more sophisticated and scientific. Thus, insurance business models and approaches were improved.

The Insurance Museum tells the story of insurance to the public, to schools and the insurance community.

You can find out more in the online galleries below:

Rising from the Ashes : https://insurance.museum/rising-from-the-ashes

Fuelled by Coffee https://insurance.museum/fuelled-by-coffee

Our online galleries are generously funded by the Education and Training Trust of the Chartered Insurance Institute.