The History of Life Insurance.
Insurance offers financial protection against risk, and buying insurance policies has become a normal part of modern life for almost all of us. Although one form or another of insurance has been around for thousands of years, most of the everyday kinds of insurance in common use today are relative newcomers on the historical scene.
As early as 5000 BC, the ancient Chinese had a form of insurance to protect their traders. There are historical stories and even modern societies indicating a kind of humane "insurance," in which neighbors or members of the same organization or church took care of each other during emergencies. While community has no monetary value, we can consider community at its best to be a form of insurance because of the gesture of caring. What we consider life insurance, however, did not come along until long after the first caring communities.
The ancient Romans had their "burial clubs," through which members were protected against funeral costs and survivors were helped financially. The contributions of a burial club were part of what was considered a proper burial, and the Romans believed that if a person was not given a proper burial, he or she could not rest in the afterlife. And burial clubs were essential to the belief, because part of a proper funeral was a large and often lavish celebration.
Life insurance of the kind we have today dates from the late seventeenth century in England. It was originally intended, like the ancient Chinese traders' insurance, to protect merchants and traders. The death of one party to a business transaction could cause considerable hurt to the other. This historical form of life insurance protected those who brought goods into the city and those who sold them. Life insurance protected commerce.
The earliest American life insurance company appeared in 1732 in Charleston, in the colony of South Carolina, although at its founding, the company only offered fire insurance. Life insurance was not sold in the Thirteen Colonies until the 1760's, but it quickly became a big business. In the southern states of the US, life insurance policies were issued for slaves. One company in New York allegedly issued 485 policies on slaves in just two years during the 1840's. However, as the northern states became more adamant in their opposition to slavery, insurance companies were ordered to stop insuring slaves. If the records are to be believed, the sale of life insurance on the lives of slaves stopped several years before the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Ordered to search their records to purge any policies that indirectly supported slavery, life insurance companies found no such policies even before the Civil War.
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 had a form of insurance to protect their traders. There are historical stories and even modern societies indicating a kind of humane "insurance," in which neighbors or members of the same organization or church took care of each other during emergencies. While community has no monetary value, we can consider community at its best to be a form of insurance because of the gesture of caring. What we consider life insurance, however, did not come along until long after the first caring communities.
The ancient Romans had their "burial clubs," through which members were protected against funeral costs and survivors were helped financially. The contributions of a burial club were part of what was considered a proper burial, and the Romans believed that if a person was not given a proper burial, he or she could not rest in the afterlife. And burial clubs were essential to the belief, because part of a proper funeral was a large and often lavish celebration.
Life insurance of the kind we have today dates from the late seventeenth century in England. It was originally intended, like the ancient Chinese traders' insurance, to protect merchants and traders. The death of one party to a business transaction could cause considerable hurt to the other. This historical form of life insurance protected those who brought goods into the city and those who sold them. Life insurance protected commerce.
The earliest American life insurance company appeared in 1732 in Charleston, in the colony of South Carolina, although at its founding, the company only offered fire insurance. Life insurance was not sold in the Thirteen Colonies until the 1760's, but it quickly became a big business. In the southern states of the US, life insurance policies were issued for slaves. One company in New York allegedly issued 485 policies on slaves in just two years during the 1840's. However, as the northern states became more adamant in their opposition to slavery, insurance companies were ordered to stop insuring slaves. If the records are to be believed, the sale of life insurance on the lives of slaves stopped several years before the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Ordered to search their records to purge any policies that indirectly supported slavery, life insurance companies found no such policies even before the Civil War.
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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