THE MODERN INSURANCE MARKET

Abstract

A man and his community have long been endangered by various perils threatening to destroy or harm them, jeopardize their life, health or property, questioning even their survival. Various forms of protection being applied had to continuously be improved since there also emerged new hazards or risks. Except for the need to protect their own property from natural disasters or from other people's actions, there appeared the need for protection from the consequences of one`s own actions as well, which could cause a damage to other people, but to his/her own goods too.

The initial forms of a protection of people affected by the accident (the illness or death of the breadwinner, the emergence of disability, the destruction of property after fire and the like) were the common contributions and the help of the community – a family, village or tribe. In a primitive society, when there was no private property, this problem could not be complex: the destroyed goods were replaced by the newly created ones among the community. In these more or less poorly regulated undertakings can be found certain traces of a modern insurance. The root word of the term insurance is the adjective safe (sicuro in Italian, secures in Latin).

An individual's own forces could not provide such a protection. Therefore, very early, during the development of the human society, there arose the idea on the organization of the necessary protection through a mechanism used by the individuals threatened by the same danger. In such a way, those individuals could, through their natural or, later, cash contributions, provide a compensation to those affected by the risk.