[4] The Union was founded in 1835 by Dent & Co to provide insurance for commercial cargoes in Canton following expiry of the East India Company monopoly over trade.
[4] Original subscribers are believed to have also included Jardine, Matheson & Co., Turner & Co. and Russell & Co. although early records did not survive the collapse of Dent in 1866.
[4] When the ports of Hong Kong opened in 1841, the Union moved its business operations from Macau to become the first insurer to be headquartered in the new colony.
[5] Until 1874 the company operated under a succession of limited terms of up to three years, each followed by a liquidation of assets to its members, a practice routed in its origins as a mutual assurance society.
Under his leadership, the Union Insurance Society of Canton expanded as a global insurance company, opened up new branches at Tokyo, Hankow, Tientsin, Scurabaya, Bombay, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Vancouver, Toronto, Buenos Aires, Cario and Johannesburg and numerous other agencies.