Lloyd's is considering legal action against GRIP insurance boss Simon Burgess for attempting to profit from its historic name by ‘cyber squatting' on the internet.
The legal move is promised after Burgess, the author of policies for alien abduction and Valentine's Day setbacks, claimed he has registered the internet domain name ‘lloyds-insurance.net'.
Burgess said the exercise cost him £26 and is among more than 40 domain names to which he and his business partners – four Lloyd's brokers, have staked claims.
He indicated his intention is to make a profit on the venture: “It will cost any buyer in excess of £26 to relieve me of lloyds-insurance.net. I am going to sell it at the earliest opportunity.”
But to counter any possible legal action, Burgess has taken the precaution of offering a 1% share in lloyds-insurance.net to an Edward Lloyd of Ilford, Essex.
A spokeswoman for One Lime Street said it tended to take a dim view of what she termed ‘cyber squatting' although the case was not the first of its kind.
She said: “When we have spoken to the people involved we have managed to get them to give up their claims to disputed names on the internet.”
But the spokeswoman warned: “If we have to go to court, we will.”
Burgess replied: “My intellectual property lawyer is the largest and most prestigious firm in the country. I can rely on their advice and look forward to hearing from Lloyd's.”
