Insurtech: what is it and what does it mean for insurance? - Economics Observatory

The basic idea of insurance is based on risk transfer and has been around, in some form, for thousands of years. For example, Chinese merchants travelling through treacherous rivers over two thousand years ago would spread their goods across many vessels to avoid losing everything if a single vessel were to capsize. The use of public storehouse granaries for the purpose of communal protection in the event of a famine is another example. Modern-day insurance can be traced back to events such as the Great Fire of London in 1666. This prompted the development of property insurance, the establishment of Edward Lloyd's London coffee shop (which became a central place for marine insurance to develop and eventually the famous Lloyd's of London insurance market) and the founding of the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office in 1706 and the Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1762.