How Did Insurance Begin
When you look around at our world today, you would tend to think that insurance is a fairly new way to make money that was designed by capitalist to squeeze every penny out of you. In fact, insurance has been around for a very long time. In its beginning, it was slightly different from what we know now, however, not that much different. The main difference is the classification we put insurance in. It is more specialized offering insurance for health, property, vehicles and life.
The earliest form of insurance can be seen when kings and criminals ruled the kingdom. In this day in age, it was more a form of blackmail rather than a security. Nonetheless, it was security and business owners, as well as home owners relied heavily on it. It was the ruler’s word that the businesses would be protected from being damaged by criminals and the like if they supplied then with a portion of the profits of the business. Knowing the rulers, these were no small cuts. The business owners did pay it and had soldiers at their business residences for protection. This is why it would not be uncommon to find the businesses owner actually move into where they work. They wanted the ultimate form of protection.
About 2-3 millennia ago, the first contract was formed that displayed what we know now as property insurance. If any carrier or transporter was attempting to carry goods from one point to another, they would guarantee the property, or cargo. They guaranteed it from the shipper and receivers side. This made transporters more confident in their deliveries and they took more chances which increased the trading and transporting of goods. They often etched these contracts in stone or papyrus after they decided verbal agreements did not hold up well in most cases.
Later on, people would hire guards. In today’s times, it would be the equivalent of a security guard. These guards, which were often times retired soldiers, would follow a transportation of goods or wherever they were needed. It was very hard work, but it paid well. Many retired soldiers took this form of work up as a way of living.
Long after those times, you come into the modern age of insurance. You can get virtually anything insured. This is seen to the extent of a purchase of an item with the ability to purchase insurance in case it gets damaged. This is popularly seen when you purchase computers, TV’s and other higher end items that are usually expensive to replace without aid.
Benjamin Franklin was the first person to adopt a fire insurance company in the United States of America during 1752. In his plan, the insurance company only insured houses and the like that were not warehouses or made of wood. What they did do different is educate people about fire hazards and ways to take preventative steps.
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