Insurance law is largely the law that protects and regulates all aspects of insurance and can be counteracted into two distinct classes:
? the regulation of the actual business of insurance and
? the rules per insurance claims.
What's interesting is that man first started thinking of risk management A.D. already, so although there were no insurance lawyers per se, there were a variety of rather astute merchants who realised the worth of protecting their assets by an informal arrangement; the precursor to the formality of insurance law.
Ancient Chinese were the 'founders' of risk management
Ancient civilisations were the catalysts for the additional modern concept of insurance, with Chinese merchants arguably the 'founders' of risk management. These ancient traders usually had to transport their wares along wild and treacherous rivers to the nearest market, where loss of both life and merchandise was common place. In an attempt to cut back the risk, they'd distribute their merchandise across a variety of sailing vessels.
In line with the celebrated Code of Hammurabi penned in 1750 BC, the Babylonians were the first people to pay extra fees as insurance; the original insurance premium. If a merchant applied for and received a loan from the moneylenders to fund a shipment, he would also cough up a very little extra as a guarantee that the lender would cancel the loan within the case of the shipment being lost or stolen.
It had been the traditional Roman and Greek civilisations, however, that formed fledgling 'life insurance' corporations around 600 AD. They'd organise associations or benevolent clubs that were committed to the care of the family within the case of the member's death and would also fork out for the funeral prices - 'friendly' life insurance.
The Great Hearth of London was the catalyst for one of the first insurance corporations
Way back in 1666, the city of London was virtually destroyed by fireplace and a rather intelligent Englishman, Nicholas Barbon, saw the perfect niche marketplace for him and his merry men. Once an estimated thirteen,000 dwellings were razed by the Nice Fire of London, Barbon founded "The Hearth Workplace", which was a business dedicated to the exclusive insurance of buildings.
Insurance business susceptible to irregularities
Another attention-grabbing snippet of knowledge is the very fact that insurance corporations, like all different businesses out there, are prone to all or any sorts of illegal machinations.
A recent example of insurance irregularities was in 2006 when European insurance giant, Zurich Financial Services, was nabbed for bid rigging and price fixing. Fortunately, the relevant insurance regulator put a stop to this anti-competitive stance and the corporate had to cough up $171 million in settlement plus a further $122 million in refunds!
Author Resource:-
Molly Bennett has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in law legal,you can also check out his latest website about:
Heavy Duty Hand Truck Which reviews and lists the best
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