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.

Insurance has been around since society began. The earliest form of insurance was the old protection rackets that organized crime families still use even today. Criminals or rulers of a country would ?guarantee? that a business or home would not be damaged or destroyed by criminal activities for a weekly cut of said earnings of the business. This form of blackmail and extortion quickly led to merchants and shopkeepers living in their businesses. So that when the criminals came they would be greeted by sword and spear. These actions, taken by these early businessmen, led to the old saying, ?The greatest protection comes by the sword.?

A little later on, cargo and any form of transportation enacted the insurance idea. It was known that the transporter or trader of the goods would guarantee the items would get there or they would be replaced. This was often said in a verbal contract. They soon discovered that verbal contracts were not a solid way of doing business, as many people dropped back from their agreement and the others were left high and dry. As they evolved, they started chiseling them into rock and papyrus. This helped ensure the laws were laid out for all to see and no one?s ?word? was taken for miscommunication.

As human society became more modern, many traders would hire retired soldiers, i.e. mercenaries, to help shepherd their goods from place to place. These men could in some ways be called the first security guards of human society. But it was hazardous and difficult work, but for the soldiers of fortune of that time it was some of the best work one could get.

Now in the modern age, insurance is a necessity for a normal life in every nation on Earth. Insurance now covers Life, property, wellbeing, and even accountability from lawsuits. The insurance business is now a multi-billion dollar industry. The first known insurance business was started after the Great London Fire in 1666. The fire destroyed 13,200 houses. After this tragedy, Nicholas Barbon opened an office to insure buildings. In 1680, he established England’s first fire insurance company, “The Fire Office,” to insure brick and frame homes.

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.

As you can see, insurance has come a very long way and it continues to be part of our everyday lives. With the cost of living and property we own; it is true for the general public that you can?t live without insurance. In many areas, insurance is required on some items.