If you’ve ever wondered how long has whole life insurance been around then here is a fun history lesson for you. depending on if you are thinking about life insurance in its present form or its initial form then the answer differs slightly but let’s go into some detail on that.
In short- life insurance has been around since Roman times(about 700 BC) in the form of burial clubs to help cover burial expenses as well as survivors, while modern life insurance was first offered by the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office in 1706.
Out of necessity life insurance came about due to the cost associated with burying someone. Probably further back than even the Roman Empire people used to beg for help to bury their dead relatives, much like people beg on the street corners still today.
Even today, funerals are unexpected, and even when they are, there are often medical expenses to cover after a long illness which has left the family short on, or on the whole, money.
An unknown person in Rome figured out that if a group of people would put just a few coppers in a jar every week they could have enough to buy a casket whenever the next person passed on.
Not too long later someone else figured out that adding just a little bit more each week would allow the surviving spouse and kids to have something extra to live on as well.
Modern life insurance
The first recorded life insurance policy dates back to 1583 in London, England. It was a single-year policy that he paid 30 pounds for and the policyholder would have received 400 pounds.
The policy was held by someone other than his wife or immediate family and he did actually die before the year was up, though no record states how.
Mortality tables
In the 1600’s a man by the name of John Graunt read the church records and figured out what the average lifespans of men and women were based on them. This became the first mortality table that was used to determine exactly what should be charged for a life insurance policy each month.
Nothing states if he got a policy himself but he died at the age of 54.
Life insurance use throughout history
Life insurance throughout history has served the same purpose: when the insured dies while the policy is in good standing, the insurer then gives the beneficiary a sum of money referred to as the death benefit.
The other thing that has stayed the same throughout history is that those who have taken out a policy and received that benefit have far fewer financial troubles after the tragic emotional trouble of a loved one’s death. While those that don’t take one out unfortunately do have to suffer through some trough financial troubles as well.
For more information about common life insurance questions check this out
Famous life insurance policyholders
Many companies were either started from the benefit of a life insurance policy or through the utilization of a life insurance policy. Places like J.C. Penney, John McCain, and even Walt Disney.
If they had not had insurance then we may not know what Disneyland is, which is just one example. Others include J.C. Penney’s surviving the great depression because J.C. used his policy to keep the doors open. Pampered Chef is another example of a company that used life insurance.
Using life insurance can go well beyond the death benefit and has for many people in the past, present, and will in the future.