Category: History

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1458

By on May 21, 2012 in History

1458: Evidence of probability reasoning began after underwriters started to be able to determine the various risks to be considered in marine insurance. Benedetto Cotrugli, (1416-1469) one of the first to implement the double entry system of accounting, was one of the first to list these risks. In his book he wrote, [underwriters] “must recall that it is necessary to gather all the news that come from the sea and to pay special attention to them, to constantly ask for and inquire on pirates and evil people, wars, truces, reprisals and all the thing that may perturbe the sea. They must keep navigation maps on their desk and have a good knowledge of the seaports and the beaches, of the distance from one place to another, and they must take into account the condition of the captains, of the insured merchants, and of the vessels, and they must consider the merchandise, since all these elements are required.”

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1435

By on Apr 30, 2012 in History

1435: Evidence that insurance was operating in Barcelona, Spain was found in the ordinances of the city.

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1384

By on Apr 23, 2012 in History

1384: Another old policy was issued for the cargo of the ship Santa Clara. The voyage covered was from Pisa to Savon and the contents insured were four bales of textiles. The policy was worded in such a way as to avoid provoking the ire of the papacy and their vigilance against high interest rates.

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1370:

By on Apr 01, 2012 in History

1370: The first confirmed record of an actual insurance agreement was recorded at Bruges,Belgium, the work of a Genoese underwriter.

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1347 AD

By on Mar 26, 2012 in History

1347AD: In Genoa, an early policy covering a vessel was written in the form of a loan in order to avoid breaching papal policies.

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1310 AD:

By on Mar 19, 2012 in History

1310 AD: A Chamber of Assurance was established in Bruges, Belgium.

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1318 AD

By on Mar 12, 2012 in History

1318 AD: The books of Francesco del Bene and Company, a Florentine merchant, contained references to insuring against losses by land and by sea.

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1300 AD

By on Mar 05, 2012 in History

1300 AD: In Scandinavia, the laws of Wisby were introduced for those in the Hanseatic Trading League. The practice of Bottomry was regulated by the laws.

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1266 AD

By on Feb 27, 2012 in History

1266 AD: The Rules of Oleron, also known as the Judgments of Oleron, were produced. Oleron is a small island off the coast of France. These codes formalized the protection seafarer’s were provided by putting them into writing. These standards were meant to provide sailors with a sense of how they were to be treated should they fall ill while working for employers at sea. The rules covered all of the most common situations faced – even going so far as to provide limited life coverage should an employee eventually succumb to their illness.

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1227 AD

By on Feb 13, 2012 in History

1227 AD: Pope Gregory IX (1170-1221 AD) issued a Papal Seeforbidding the common practice of charging premium interest on maritime loans. The Papacy and theology were not against the principle of insurance, or methods used to spread the risk, per se, only interest rates deemed “usury,” or excessive. In order to continue the practice, the traders created independent contracts which separated the risk sharing from the loan contracts. These practices helped establish the first contracts for insurance type schemes and such important concepts as the principle of indemnity, subrogation and insurable interest.

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1063 AD

By on Feb 13, 2012 in History

1063 AD: The Amalfi Sea Code developed in Italy and provided a type of marine insurance for members. If a ship were lost at sea, the Sea Code stipulated that the merchant(s) were reimbursed from a pool of funds contributed by its members.

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800 AD

By on Feb 06, 2012 in History

800AD: A form of “group insurance” emerged with the European guilds. These trained those entering the trades and provided an umbrella of support financed by the fees collected from the masters following their training. This protection encouraged prospects to enter the trades. These funds were used in a variety of ways, from financing the reconstruction of a member’s building destroyed by fire or to help a craftsmen pay bills after they were robbed. If a master was injured or killed, the funds could be put to use assisting his family.

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529 AD

By on Jan 30, 2012 in History

529 AD: The emperor Justinian I (527-565 AD) reigned over the Eastern Roman Empire for almost four decades. His greatest accomplishment was to compile the laws which had been used since ancient time, written and unwritten, including those dealing with the insurance-type activities governing maritime trade. Justinian’s scribes became known as the Roman Pandectsand were designed to unify the empire through a Corpus iuris civilis, or body of law.

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230 AD

By on Jan 23, 2012 in History

230AD: Domitius Ulpianus, (Died 228AD) a Roman citizen, created tables used to fairly accurately predict the length of a human life –it was used for almost 2,000 years. Domitius used these in his work as an annuity dealer, selling financial instruments called “annua,” meaning annual stipends. For a lump sum payment, an investor could receive annual stipends for life.

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44 AD:

By on Jan 16, 2012 in History

44 AD: An emperor insured shipments of grain to Rome. Claudius Caesar (10BC-54AD) made this decision after having been heaped with both verbal and physical abuse at the forum by a mob of hungry citizens. A long drought had created a scarcity of grain. Following this incident, the emperor offered to reimburse merchants for any losses they suffered while transporting this valuable commodity to Rome and also made other investments in keeping the bread rolling.

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300 BC:

By on Jan 09, 2012 in History

300 BC: Other cultures had societies organized for the purposes of properly tending to the deceased and all other associated family matters at life end. They would be known by a variety of names but their goals were always to provide mutual aid, or benefits, to their members. The Greeks referred to their societies as Eranoi and Thiasoi.

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400 BC:

By on Jan 02, 2012 in History

400 BC: In Rome, burial societies provided a form of insurance after a member’s death. The collēgia fūnerātīcia, a cooperative association, collected affordable weekly payments. When a member died, the association would handle the funeral arrangements and, in some instances, even provide the widow with a small sum. Generally speaking, these arrangements were primarily for the poor as the upper classes could afford to pay the costs.

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600 BC:

By on Dec 26, 2011 in History

600 BC: In what is now Iran, the Achaemenian monarchs established an insurance law. When subjects bestowed gifts on the monarchs, it was recorded by the court. In essence, their gift’s purchased an obligation for assistance in times of need. To some extent, the amount of protection afforded was linked to the size of the gift.

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900-800BC

By on Dec 17, 2011 in History

900-800BC: The unwritten Rhodian laws were first formulated to ensure the continuity of travel and trade. These laws provide a set code to guide the admiralty and ship masters on the high seas as well as the recourse following incidents where perils reined. Originating from those living on the Greek island of Rhodes, these laws produced the foundations for the maritime laws, “lex maritime”, as they were known in Latin, and the general principles surrounding the general averaging formula.
“If therefore, for instance, two persons each had
merchandise valued at 20,000 sesterces and one
lost 10,000 due to water damage, the one with
the saved merchandise should contribute
according to his 20,000, but the other on the
basis of the 10,000.”

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