Insurance Perspective. Chapter 9

The inception of insurance can be traced back to centuries ago, when merchants in ancient China first began to distribute goods across multiple ships as a way to manage risk. In the Middle Ages, European merchants, financiers and shipowners followed suit by sharing risk, and this practice evolved in the 17th century in London coffee houses. One such establishment, Edward Lloyd's coffee shop on the banks of the Thames in London, became a renowned meeting place for entrepreneurs, and merchants would meet with shipowners to provide them insurance for hull and cargo in case their ships failed to return from foreign voyages. Around the same time, modern non-marine insurance emerged, with the establishment of the first fire insurance company, the Insurance Office for Houses, in 1680.