Can you imagine a world without the system of insurance?
Centuries ago, the term “insurance” was inexistent. Yet, citizens needed an organized system to eliminate or at least minimize the negative effects that perils bring. So eventually, insurance gained its important place in the country and in the whole world.
Any person or property which a person belongs to is at risk to various perils- fire, flood, earthquakes, theft, loss of life and even more. Through the system of insurance, risks are spread to all members or individuals who have also consented to pay a premium in lieu of being compensated or indemnified once the insured peril occur.
But how did it begin? How did Americans start to feel the essence of certain insurance companies like Quote IB?
Before Codified Laws
By studying human history, it could be adduced that the concept of insurance, which is to spread the risk among a group of individuals, has long been present in the society. Even before any rules or laws on such method has been codified, ancient people have already exhibited such through the simple exercise of hunting.
Whenever ancient inhabitants of the country would want to hunt their food, they would go to the jungle in groups- through this, the risk of getting killed by wild creatures is minimized. This concept continuously evolved through the past centuries.
The Hammurabi Code
Among the fist codified rules on insurance is the Hammurabi Code which was initiated by King Hammurabi. The general principles and laws guiding how the citizens shall act, were written or carved on a Babylonian obelisk monument.
More specifically, the rules on the Hammurabi Code regarding insurance offered a basic insurance wherein a debtor would no longer be obliged to pay his loan if he, the debtor, dies or becomes incapable of paying the debt.
Coffers of Guilds
Back in the middle ages, craftsmen were trained through the guild system and once apprentices become masters, they paid dues to the guild. This system is similar to what we commonly refer to as “insurance fund” or “group coverage” at present.
The amount received by the guild was often used to rebuild a master’s practice which was destroyed or burned down, or to cover for amounts robbed or stolen from the master.
Marine Navigation
Navigating through the waters centuries ago was ten times more dangerous than at present time. In the late 1600s, when shipping has started to become a popular, easier and faster practice of transporting goods, the practice of underwriting emerged in London.
The basic system of underwriting is characterized as the method where people who were interested to take the risk for a set premium would attach their signature in the manifest of cargoes to be transported, indicating which particular part of the cargo they will insure.
Rise in America
Insurance initially thrived in Europe and in the country, it took more than a century to establish the system of insurance. It started in 1752 when Benjamin Franklin founded America’s oldest laws on insurance.
Today, insurance has already become a part of the daily lives of Americans. In fact, almost anything we can own or possess could also be insured so long as we can establish our insurable interest on such objects.
For this reason, it is incumbent upon every citizen to know more about insurance and everybody should not just leave the assignment of researching about it to the providers of best insurance services in Main St. Worcester MA.
