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INTRODUCTION TO INSURANCE
HISTORY OF INSURANCE
I’m sure we’ve all heard of the word, and have an idea of how it works. Is it a great
thing? Is it something concrete or abstract? It depends on the context of the situation.
A quick, simple definition of insurance could be as follows: Reimbursement in a
situation of loss. Usually, someone decides that insurance is needed. In order for the
concept of insurance to arise, a prepayment of some type is required. In the case of
typical, everyday general auto, health and life insurance, for example, the pre payment
is in the form of a premium. Prior to the eve of the year 2000, thousands of people
flocked to the stores, stocking up on numerous supplies. They feared that something
catastrophic was going to take place once the clock struck midnight, and if so, they
wanted to do prepare. Isn’t this a form of insurance? Sure in its basic definition. The
supplies they purchased would act as reimbursement in the case of loss.
Early insurance goes back to the Egyptian times. It was known that around 3000 BC,
Chinese merchants dispersed their shipments among several vessels to avoid the
possibility of damage or loss. There are some insurance companies around today in
the United States that provided insurance back in the mid 1700’s, as well as some that
provided relief to banks during the 1930’s and the Great Depression. Today, there is
insurance for any aspects of daily living: Business, Auto, Health, Life and Travel. Each
of those categories includes sub-categories, branching off into numerous divisions.
From the beginning human societies sought ways to soften the shocks of existence.
Our ancestors were very much aware that no individual could go it alone, that only by
pooling the resources of the many could the unfortunate few be helped.
This simple notion of mutuality persists like a welcome footpath through the incredible
tangle of human history. While empires have risen and collapsed, through wars,
famines and pestilence, during the ebb and flow of struggling generations, the idea of
insurance as “the victory of human thought over the rude violence of life”
Even as human society emerged from the darkness of unrecorded time, we see it at
once. In ancient Babylonia, where from the confluence of two rivers, enterprising
merchants sent caravans and ships to trade with all parts of the known world: with
Egypt, Phoenicia, India and China.