The History of Life Insurance.
Insurance provides us with protection against risk, and owning insurance policies is a normal part of modern life. While insurance has been around for hundreds of years in one form or another, most of the familiar kinds of insurance we have today are actually a newcomer on the historical scene.
As early as 5000 BC, the ancient Chinese formed mutual aid groups called tangs. These associations acted as a form of insurance to protect traders. There are man y historical stories and even modern mutual aid societies indicating a kind of humane "insurance," in which neighbors or settlers or members of the same church or club take care of each other during emergencies. While a caring community cannot be assigned monetary value-many would consider its value to be incalculable-we can consider a caring community to be a form of insurance. Life insurance, however, did not arrive until long after the first caring communities.
Life insurance dates back to ancient Rome, but it wasn't called life insurance then. The Romans had "burial clubs," in which members paid for the funeral expenses of the deceased and helped the deceased's survivors financially. This was part of what was considered a proper burial. The Romans believed that if a person was not buried properly, they would not rest in the afterlife. The burial clubs were necessary to cover the funeral expenses, because part of a proper burial was a large and often lavish funeral celebration.
Modern life insurance dates back to the late 17th century in England. Life insurance was originally designed to protect traders and merchants. The first insurance providers would meet their customers at coffeehouses and pubs to draw up insurance contracts. These were the common meeting places of that era. This form of life insurance was designed to protect those who brought goods into the community and those who sold them. It was a way to protect and insure commerce.
The first United States insurance company was founded in 1732 in Charleston, South Carolina, but the company only offered fire insurance. Life insurance policies were not offered in the United States until the 1760s, but it became a fast growing business. However, there were issues in the 1800s with slave owners purchasing life insurance policies for their slaves. One New York insurance company is alleged to have sold 485 slave life insurance policies during a two-year period in the 1840s alone. However, the sale of such policies stopped several years before the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the United States. Some states have passed legislation requiring insurance companies to search their records to see if they sold policies on slaves. So far, there are no reports of any insurance companies finding records of such policies.
Regardless of what type of insurance policy you may hold, it is clear that the history of insurance is a rich and complex history. But one constant hasn't changed. Insurance is designed to protect us from whatever life sends our way. Contact a qualified insurance provider if you have questions about how insurance can benefit and protect you. A qualified insurance provider will examine your specific situation and help determine what type of insurance will best protect you and your family.
As early as 5000 BC, the ancient Chinese formed mutual aid groups called tangs. These associations acted as a form of insurance to protect traders. There are man y historical stories and even modern mutual aid societies indicating a kind of humane "insurance," in which neighbors or settlers or members of the same church or club take care of each other during emergencies. While a caring community cannot be assigned monetary value-many would consider its value to be incalculable-we can consider a caring community to be a form of insurance. Life insurance, however, did not arrive until long after the first caring communities.
Life insurance dates back to ancient Rome, but it wasn't called life insurance then. The Romans had "burial clubs," in which members paid for the funeral expenses of the deceased and helped the deceased's survivors financially. This was part of what was considered a proper burial. The Romans believed that if a person was not buried properly, they would not rest in the afterlife. The burial clubs were necessary to cover the funeral expenses, because part of a proper burial was a large and often lavish funeral celebration.
Modern life insurance dates back to the late 17th century in England. Life insurance was originally designed to protect traders and merchants. The first insurance providers would meet their customers at coffeehouses and pubs to draw up insurance contracts. These were the common meeting places of that era. This form of life insurance was designed to protect those who brought goods into the community and those who sold them. It was a way to protect and insure commerce.
The first United States insurance company was founded in 1732 in Charleston, South Carolina, but the company only offered fire insurance. Life insurance policies were not offered in the United States until the 1760s, but it became a fast growing business. However, there were issues in the 1800s with slave owners purchasing life insurance policies for their slaves. One New York insurance company is alleged to have sold 485 slave life insurance policies during a two-year period in the 1840s alone. However, the sale of such policies stopped several years before the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the United States. Some states have passed legislation requiring insurance companies to search their records to see if they sold policies on slaves. So far, there are no reports of any insurance companies finding records of such policies.
Regardless of what type of insurance policy you may hold, it is clear that the history of insurance is a rich and complex history. But one constant hasn't changed. Insurance is designed to protect us from whatever life sends our way. Contact a qualified insurance provider if you have questions about how insurance can benefit and protect you. A qualified insurance provider will examine your specific situation and help determine what type of insurance will best protect you and your family.
About the Author:
Tom Martens is the content syndication coordinator at Lifeinsurance-Southafrica.co.za South Arica's leading Life Insurance and Life Cover portal.
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