Charles Povey
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Charles Povey (1652?[1] – 4 May 1743) was a British pamphleteer and entrepreneur, who challenged the Royal Mail's postal monopoly by running the "Halfpenny Carriage", a local London postal system similar to William Dockwra's Penny Post. He founded the first joint-stock company for fire insurance, the Exchange House Fire Office[2] later the "Sun Fire Office" that remains in business today as the RSA Insurance Group.
Founding the Exchange House Fire Office in 1708, Povey was not long involved with it. In 1709 it became the Company of London Insurers. It was called the "Sun Fire Office", after the fire mark used by Povey. A deal of 1710 saw Povey sell out. The company innovated by insuring both houses and goods.[3]: 8
The Sun Fire Office was soon followed by other such companies, which grew more rapidly at the outset.[3]: 11 Shares in it were acquired by Royal Exchange Assurance in 1720.[3]: 48 Yet the Sun mark lasted for centuries.
The Halfpenny Carriage
The Halfpenny Carriage was a postal service run by Povey in the London area from October 1709, in competition with and undercutting the official Post Office monopoly, which charged a penny per letter. It was closed down by the government, after seven months.[4] Povey was fined, but his systematic use of bellmen was adopted by the Post Office.[5]
