Insurance - How it Started

The idea of writing this book was to capture the humble origin of insurance from a casual chat in a coffee house (not in a court or parliament), then the various case laws which cemented the fundamental principles for example - Life Assurance Act 1774, cemented the principle of Insurable interest as necessary in EVERY contract of Insurance.We continue to observe its evolution through the years to today's position where Insurance is a regulated industry and recent ACTs in 2012 and 2015, now shifts the responsibility to request material facts concerning risks to the Insurers and away from the requirement under the Marine Insurance Act 1906 which was the standing position for over 100 years until the 2012 & 2015 Acts.Finally, we cannot ignore the advent of the Information Technology age where policies are sold and bound in minutes over the internet or via call centers as well as claims payment being concluded over a telephone and monies being transferred directly into clients bank accounts without any face to face meeting with the insurer. We also cannot ignore the new distribution channels where supermarkets and banks now sell insurance. Can you imagine the industry in say 5 years' time?