The History Of Life Insurance
Risk protection has been a primary goal of humans and institutions throughout history. Protecting against risk is what insurance is all about.
Over 5000 years ago, in China, insurance was seen as a preventative measure against piracy on the sea. Piracy, in fact, was so prevalent, that as a way of spreading the risk, a number of ships would carry a portion of another ship's cargo so that if one ship was captured, the entire shipment would not be lost.
In another part of the world, nearly 4,500 years ago, in the ancient land of Babylonia, traders used to bear risk of the caravan trade by giving loans that had to be later repaid with interest when the goods arrived safely. In 2100 BC, the Code of Hammurabi granted legal status to the practice. It formalized concepts of “bottomry” referring to vessel bottoms and “respondentia” referring to cargo. These provided the underpinning for marine insurance contracts. Such contracts contained three elements: a loan on the vessel, cargo, or freight; an interest rate; and a surcharge to cover the possibility of loss. In effect, ship owners were the insured and lenders were the underwriters.
Life insurance came about a little later in ancient Rome, where burial clubs were formed to cover the funeral expenses of its members, as well as help survivors monetarily. With Rome's fall, around 450 A.D., most of the concepts of insurance were abandoned, but aspects of it did continue through the Middle Ages, particularly with merchant and artisan guilds. These provided forms of member insurance covering risks like fire, flood, theft, disability, death, and even imprisonment.
During the feudal period, early forms of insurance ebbed with the decline of travel and long-distance trade. But during the 14th to 16th centuries, transportation, commerce, and insurance would again reemerge.
Insurance in India can be traced back to the Vedas. For instance, yogakshema, the name of Life Insurance Corporation of India's corporate headquarters, is derived from the Rig Veda. The term suggests that a form of "community insurance" was prevalent around 1000 BC and practiced by the Aryans.
And similar to ancient Rome, burial societies were formed in the Buddhist period to help families build houses, and to protect widows and children.