Insurance History
Insurance started with Chinese and Babylonian empires around 2000BC. A physical separation of goods reduced the risk of loss with any catastrophic event, such as
loading 10 boats with goods instead of just one. In another case it was in a contractual obligation with the seller agreeing to guarantee delivery and in the event
the delivery was not made, the payment was forgiven.
Types of Insurance
There are many different forms of insurance today, but most fall into the following categories. In reality, most insurers are capable of insuring just about anything through
the form of a modern contract. Depending on the complexity, it may not be economical to setup the contract, but for the following categories these are standard and have
many competitive existing offerings in the industry.
Auto insurance
* Property - coverage against damages to Property
* Liability - against lawsuits where you may be found guilty of damages to people or Property
* Medical - coverage against injuries to persons
in all states some for of auto insurance is required for operation of motor vehicles on a public roadway - but many states differ in the amount of coverage you must carry.
Gap insurance
This is mostly 'just in case' when other insurance does not cover a claim, Gap insurance is used.
Health insurance
General insurance for persons, that covers most often the body but does not include eyes or teeth. For an unknown reason the health insurance industry has split these two forms of coverage out to separate
plans as a way to extract additional premiums from participants, as if teeth and eyes are not part of the human healthy experience.
Income protection insurance
In the event of lost wages or income, income protection can be purchased to bridge the gap typically at a reduce amount than what would have been made or collected. There are many sub
categories including long term, short term, and other forms of workers compensation insurance. as part of disability, there are different forms of what type of disability including loss of limb
and hand, etc..
Casualty insurance
Insurance can cover losses against something or someone that cannot be tied a physical property. for example terrorism, kidnapping, changing political situations, and other crimes like theft or embezzlement.
Life insurance
Protecting typically family and spouses, Life insurance provides income in the event a wage earner dies. Premiums are typically directly related to the wage or premium the earner is covered
for and their age is usually directly proportional to the present value of the expected life long earnings. Other factors can play into the rate like health conditions, risky lifestyles and
criminal inclination.
Burial insurance
In many areas funds have not been set aside to cover funeral and other activities incurred at the time of death. Some will take out insurance on themselves or other family members to
ease the financial burdens when someone dies. Burial Insurance typically covers funeral costs, plots, preparation, ceremony and the like.
Property
Property insurance covers physical goods like cars, houses as the most typical. In many cases just about any physical object can be covered with property insurance such as hair, fingernails
, chia pets and collector speakers. In the cases of foreign goods coverage, the premium is often set based on the rarity and likelihood of loss. In the event an object is extremely rare a
premium will be set such that the insurer will not incur a sizable loss in the event of a claim.
Liability
Typically used when dealing with the general public, including sweepstakes and other gambling mechanisms. Yes, Liability insurance can even cover the premiums if somene wins!
