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WHAT DID THE

ROMANS

EVER DO FOR US?

ell, quite a lot actually – including introducing traders, merchants and captains. T ey were soon joined by a new
the world’s first ever life insurance cover in the breed of businessman – the underwriter – and insurance deals were
year 600 BC. T e policies were administered by agreed and signed over steaming cups of Brazilian coffee.
W‘Benevolent Societies’ managed by the governing T e 1680s also saw the establishment of the first fire insurance
‘Senate’ and provided financial support for the families of the company, set up by Mr Nicholas Barbon. T is venture was a direct
deceased. T e funds paid out on the death of an insured person, consequence of the Great Fire of London in 1666 when over
to cover funeral costs and to provide some financial security for 13,000 homes were destroyed without compensation.
surviving family members. T e 19th Century saw the birth of accident insurance and
You may be surprised to learn that insurance can trace its the beginnings of regulation of the rapidly growing insurance
history back 600 years before the birth of Christ, but it actually business. It was in the 1800s that criminals first took an interest
dates back even further than that. T e Romans were by no means in the insurance industry and the opportunities it presented for
the first civilisation to devise a system to manage risks and embezzlement. Customers began to lie about values
protect valuable assets. Long before Caesar’s legions and events in order to make dishonest claims and
had established the far flung borders of the Roman insurance inspired murders began to make the
Empire, traders were insuring their goods before news headlines. It was against this backdrop
setting off on the long and often hazardous that insurance investigators appeared
journeys to distant lands. on the scene and a new job description
T e earliest record of a system which entered the English language – T e
we would recognise as insurance appears Loss Adjuster. People also began to
around 3,000 BC when Chinese and question the morality of an industry
Babylonian traders took out insurance which was prepared to insure slaves as
on ships’ cargoes. T e traders would pay if they were mere chattels. As recently
a third party to transport the goods, on as 1840, Nautilus Insurance of London
the understanding that the trader would sold almost 500 slave insurance policies
be reimbursed should the goods be lost in to traders and slave owners. In fact,
transit. T e transporter would often split the the practice of offering slave insurance
cargo into multiple, smaller loads to reduce the policies continued right up to the end of the
risk of total loss. American Civil War in 1865.
A thousand years later in 2,000 BC the ancient T e early 20th Century saw a further development
Persians developed the insurance idea to cover things other in the industry, with entire nations taking out insurance
than commercial goods. Each ‘Nowruz’ (New Year’s Eve) wealthy policies as a means of guaranteeing financial security. T e early
noblemen paid a bounty of 10,000 Derrik to the king to insure 1900s also saw the introduction of legislation making insurance
valuable family assets against catastrophe. compulsory in many areas of activity.
In 1,000 BC traders from the Greek island of Rhodes developed And so, to the present day.
a system called the ‘General Average’ whereby each would pay a t 5,000 years have elapsed since mankind first came up with the
bounty to a central fund kept secure by an independent third idea of insuring valuable assets
party. Any trader losing a shipment would be reimbursed from t We live in an increasingly complex world where our individual
this fund. insurance needs are equally complicated
By the time of Christ’s birth, insurance was a well established t 21st Century Customers, require 21st Century Insurance,
concept across the trading world, remaining largely unchanged provided by a 21st Century Organisation
until the 12th century AD. An agreement between traders and the t T at organisation is Police Insure
rulers of Anatolia, in what is now Turkey, resulted in the world’s t We offer bespoke policies tailored to our clients’ specific needs
first state sponsored insurance policies, where claimants were t We are a customer focused company offering professional
reimbursed from the national treasury. services and appropriate products at the right price
Post renaissance Europe saw the emergence of an ‘insurance t We will be there for you when you need us most
industry’ in response to the increased complexities of international Contact us NOW for all your Insurance needs on 0161 762
trade. In the 1680s Mr Edward Lloyd opened his now famous coffee 4416 or visit our website at www.policeinsure.co.uk ■
house in London and it soon became popular with ship owners,