The History of the Insurance Industry
- Carlos Ramirez
- Aug 15, 2022
- 10 min read
Updated: Jun 26
By Carlos Ramirez
The history of insurance goes back to the first civilizations in history. Man understood that hunting, gathering, and making tools would be more effective efforts if they were done in groups. Noticing that the system worked well, they continued to collaborate in groups that consisted of a wife, children, and head of household. This ancient Babylonian tradition was also replicated in other areas of the Roman and Greek civilizations between 3000 BC and 4000 BC. These agreements were commonly used between these civilizations for many years.
During this time, civilian men lent large amounts of money for the trade of important objects, often by sea. Unfortunately, it was common for the men to be robbed at sea by pirates and the merchandise lost. When this happened, the group of maritime merchants equally divided the losses. These contracts became so popular that they became part of the Hammurabi Code. Based on neighborhood solidarity, these contracts ranged from the replacement of an entire ship to the replacement of a bird. In these agreements the wife and children, who were left without the protection of the father, were also covered.
