In the 1860s, especially after the unification of Italy and the opening of the Suez Canal, major players in the insurance industry such as Lloyd’s of London set up shop in Malta. By the turn of the 20th century, several insurance companies had established agencies in Malta. This was directly related to the island’s newfound stability and heightened importance as a stop to the Orient, as well as a commercial hub for entrepôt trade.

Despite the island’s economy gradual decline just before and after World War I, Malta enjoyed growth in some new markets, such as motoring and cinemas. The 1921 constitution also allowed a local government to invest, to a limited extent, in local sectors such as education and industrialisation. Nevertheless, the dire economic turmoil caused by the Great Depression, which began in the late 1920s, extinguished any hopes of exponential economic prosperity.

Passport photo of Albert Victor Mallia, aged 34, in 1933. Photo: National Archives of Malta

It is in this turbulent context that we see a new face enter the Maltese insurance industry. In 1925, a young bank clerk, by the name of Albert Victor Mallia set up his own agency for the British firm Northern Assurance. The British company already had roots in Malta, going back to the 19th century. However, with Mallia as their new agent, the agency flourished into a leading insurer, reshaping the Maltese insurance industry along the way.

Insurance itself was changing. From a multitude of companies under the name of individual investors, agencies in Malta started transacting insurance on behalf of internationally established firms. Moreover, commercial endeavours were no longer tied to mercantile trade alone; on a relatively small scale, new Maltese-owned firms and industries were being set up.

Through his connections, Mallia insured big names in several sectors

Mallia’s records survive intact and allow researchers to step into Malta’s commercial landscape between 1925 and the 1960s. Insurance policies for prominent names immediately emerge such as Simonds-Farsons from 1929, Magro Brothers, the Auto Sale Company (now Kind's), Gauci Borda, A & G Cousis, Anastasi & Co, the Daily Malta Chronicle, Hammet’s photo studio, the Cassar Company and Captain A. Caruana, to mention a few.

Various officers’ messes were insured with Mallia’s agency, including those of infantry brigades and Royal Artillery regiments. The 13th HAA battery even insured sailing cutters at Tigné barracks. Photo: Times of Malta, 1938

The 1st Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment disembarking in Malta with their equipment. Photo: The Times of Malta, 1939

Through his connections, Mallia insured big names in several sectors. In the entertainment industry, one finds insurance policies for the MADC, Fortunato Habib as well as patrons of the arts such as Lady Strickland. Records also show that the Northern brand was a candidate for several high-profile accounts and artefacts, such as the insurance of the Royal Opera House and the delicate Gobelin Tapestries.

At the time, Northern was described as a “very old, first-class British insurance company”. Malta was changing, and these records provide evidence of Mallia’s efforts to advertise his agency and its services across different markets, eventually even outside of Valletta.

Mallia established clients in places like Marsa; industrial firms such as St Joseph’s Mill and the Malta Steam Flour Mill, as well as a beer bottling plant run by Younger & Co. He also had even bigger clients elsewhere, such as St Paul’s Petroleum Tanks.

Northern car insurance advert from Malta. Photo: Private Collection Julian Brown

Northern car insurance advert from Malta. Photo: Private Collection Julian Brown

Starting off in Strada Forni, Mallia later moved to 41, Strada Reale (now Republic Street) in the late 1920s. There, he was physically close to the Union Club at the Auberge de Provence (now the Archaeology Museum), which was full of British officers and members of high society, the prominent demographic of his clientele. He himself was within that social milieu, being appointed captain and later major in the King’s Own Malta Regiment during the war, eventually holding the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is also not surprising, given Malta’s economic reliance on the British war machine and Mallia’s connections, that a significant percentage of his clients were military establishments.

In the 1920s and 1930s, HMS Danea and Delight both insured their bunting for use in parties on the island. Shore establishments such as HMS St Angelo insured parts of their canteen. From the fixtures and fittings of the Royal Artillery’s mess at Tigné, to pool tables at RAF Kalafrana and Luqa, Northern’s Maltese agency covered all sorts of military assets.

During the war, military clients still insured their property for fire and theft, including the Royal Engineers, Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, as well as the various infantry brigades. Battalions of the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Dorsetshire Regiment insured their cinema and brass instruments respectively.

Promotional advert for Northern car insurance. Photo: Atlas Insurance Archive

Northern car insurance advert from Malta. Photo: Private Collection Julian Brown

The fact that Mallia himself served with the King’s Own Malta Regiment during World War II likely provided another organic source of clientele. Brigadier Walter Hayes Oxley, later governor-in-command of Malta, purchased cover for personal effects stored in “an underground stone vault” in Floriana. Bombs were not the only cause for concern back then as theft was rampant. So much so that local insurers formed the Fire and Burglary Insurance Agents’ Corporation partly to address this growing need, while also serving as a means to survive the lack of insurance business.

This pool was led by Mallia and George E. Camilleri, agent for Caledonian Insurance, Mallia’s primary local competitor and colleague. Both were also key figures in the Chamber of Commerce’s insurance trade section during the war. Camilleri was honorary secretary when Mallia was vice president. Working closely together, they led the way wherever the rights of local insurers were concerned, garnering support from other local agencies.

Northern advert for pedal bicycle insurance. Photo: The Times of Malta, 1942

After the war, Mallia’s Northern brand was still considered the biggest insurance agency on the island. Whenever assessing local competition, Northern was considered the ‘leading office’. Mallia was also an agent for products such as Wincarnis and held other appointments beyond insurance. However, gradually, new insurance agencies took over and Mallia’s once prominent position receded into memory.

In 1968, Northern Assurance in the UK was purchased by Commercial Union, another major British insurance company. Mallia’s agency subsequently merged with the local Commercial Union agent A.V. von Brockdorff (then known as Tumas Ltd) in 1971 to form Commercial Union Malta (Agencies). Thus, the household name of ‘Northern’ in the local insurance industry disappeared, much to Mallia’s chagrin.

Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Commercial Union Agency in Malta eventually merged with those representing the Guardian Group, one of which was that of his old competitor and ally George E. Camilleri under the name Formosa & Camilleri, then led by Camilleri’s son, Walter. The result was the establishment of Atlas Insurance Agency in 1998.

The Northern story captures a pivotal moment in the history of insurance and Malta’s commercial history. Mallia made significant contributions to the modernisation and development of the local insurance industry, bringing it into the mainstream, modernising its methods and expanding its applications and markets, while also safeguarding it in troubling times, even in the desperate years during and just after the war.

The last word goes to Albert Mallia himself who, in 1967, published in the Times of Malta a short history of insurance in Malta from the little that was known back then. By that time, he had witnessed the industry radically change while being himself a leading figure for over 40 years through some of Malta’s worst times. He ended his article by stating that the insurance industry was being spoiled by unethical practices, ruining “this honoured profession which it undoubtedly is”.

Nikolai Debono is a researcher with a background in history and anthropology.

This research was supported by Atlas Insurance.