Prudential plc

Prudential plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working people. Prudential has dual primary listings on the London Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It also has secondary listings on the New York Stock Exchange and Singapore Exchange. History Early history The company was founded in Hatton Garden in London in May 1848 as The Prudential, Investment, Loan, and Assurance Association and in September 1848 changed its name to The Prudential Mutual Assurance, Investment, and Loan Association, to provide loans to professional and working people. In 1854, the company began selling the relatively new concept of Industrial Branch insurance policies to the working class population for premiums as low as one penny a week through agents acting as door to door salesmen. The army of premium collection agents was for many years identified with the Prudential as the "Man from the Pru". The company moved to its long-time home at Holborn Bars in 1879 and converted to a limited company in 1881. The building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and is built of terracotta manufactured by Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth (c.1878): two of the same driving forces behind the Natural History Museum in London.