1. Insurance refers to the commercial insurance behavior that the applicant pays the insurance premium to the insurer according to the contract, and the insurer assumes the responsibility of paying the insurance premium for the property loss caused by the possible accident agreed in the contract, or when the insured dies, suffers from disability, illness or reaches the age and time limit agreed in the contract.
Second, from the perspective of economics, insurance is a financial arrangement to share the loss of accidents; From the legal point of view, insurance is a contractual act, a contractual arrangement in which one party agrees to compensate the other party for losses; From a social point of view, insurance is an important part of the social and economic security system and a "subtle stabilizer" for social production and social life; From the perspective of risk management, insurance is a method of risk management.
Third, human society has been confronted with natural disasters and accidents from the very beginning. In the process of struggling with nature, ancient people came up with insurance ideas and original insurance methods to deal with disasters and accidents. Around 2500 BC, the king of Babylon ordered monks, judges and village heads to collect taxes as fire fighting funds. Masons in ancient Egypt set up funeral mutual aid organizations to solve the problem of raising funeral funds by paying membership fees.
Fourth, the soldiers' organizations in the Roman Empire provided living expenses for the survivors of fallen soldiers in the form of fund-raising, and gradually formed an insurance system. With the development of trade, around 1792 BC, it was the era of Hammurabi, the sixth king of Babylon, and the business was prosperous. In order to help commerce and protect the goods of mules, horses and caravans that compensate for losses, in code of hammurabi, it is stipulated that * * * should share the compensation for losses.
5. In 9 16 BC, in Rhode Island in the Mediterranean Sea, the king formulated the Rhodesian Maritime Code to ensure the normal conduct of maritime trade, stipulating that the losses suffered by a shipper should be shared by the beneficiaries including the shipowner and the shippers of all the goods on board. This is the origin of marine insurance. In 133 BC, Recchia (* * * economic organization) established in ancient Rome charged people who joined the organization 100 ounces and a respectful bottle of sake. In addition, 5 cents is collected every month and accumulated into provident fund for funeral subsidies. This is the bud of life insurance. During the Punic War from 260 BC to 146 BC, in order to solve the problem of military transportation, the ancient Romans charged 24-36% of the merchant's expenses as a reserve fund to compensate for the loss of goods, which is the origin of marine insurance.