With some many types of Insurance one would mistakenly think that insurance is a modern invention, but investigations prove that the main concept of insurance has been around as long as human existence.

The first written insurance policy appeared in ancient times on a Babylonian obelisk( a four sided stone column tapering to pyramid at the top) monument with the code of King Hammurabi carved into it. The "Hammurabi Code" was one of the first forms of written laws. These ancient laws were extreme in most respects, but it offered basic insurance in that a debtor didn't have to pay back his loans if some personal catastrophe made it impossible (disability, death, flooding, etc.).

In ancient times, farmers of China sent their crops to market on boats. Of course boats would sink then farmers came up with a system of spreading their crops among numerous boats, so that if one boat sank, only one family would lose a small portion of their crops, thus avoiding financial devastation. The loss was spread among many families, and was therefore manageable for each one.

Due to ships being inevitably lost at sea actual insurance contracts originated in the 13th century with ship owners who wanted to protect themselves. The owners were aware of this, but they could not foresee which ships would be lost at what time. Wealthy individuals agreed to receive a certain amount of money from each ship owner in exchange for a promise to pay for the loss of a ship when it occurred.

With regards to insurance matters refers to the possibility of loss. It is not the loss itself but the possibility. There are several ways of coping with risk. It may be reduced by examining its causes and eliminating them where possible. It is evident that insurance has evolved from its very early days.

Also go check out some life insurance sites in South Africa to compare prices and save some money!