MARINE INSURANCE

The origin of insurance is lost in antiquity. The earliest traces of insurance in the ancient world are found in the form of marine trade loans or carriers' contracts which included an element of insurance. Evidence is on record that arrangements embodying the idea of insurance were made in Babylonia and India at quite an early period. In Rigveda, the most sacred book of India, refrences were made to the concept 'Yogakshema' more or less akin to the well being and security of the people. The codes of Hummurabi and of Manu had recognised the advisability of provision for sharing the future losses. However, there is no evidence that insurance in its present form was practised prior to the twelfth century.

Marine Insurance
The marine insurance is the oldest form of insurance. Under Bottomry bond, the system of credit and the law of interest were well-developed and were based on a clear appreciation of the hazard involved and the means of safeguarding against it. If the ship was lost, the loan and interest were forfeited. The contract of insurance was made a part of the contract of carriage, and Manu shows that Indians had even anticipated the doctrine of average and contribution. Freight was fixed according to season and was expected to be reasonable in the case of marine transport which was then very much at the mercy of winds and elements. Travellers by sea and land were very much exposed to the risk of loosing their vessels and merchandise because the piracy on the open seas and highway robbery of caravans were very common. Besides there were several risks. Many times, it might have been captured by the king's enemies or robbed by pirates or got sunk in the deep waters. The risk to owners of such ships were enormous and , therefore, to safeguard them the marine traders devised a method of spreading over them the financial loss which could not be conveniently device was quite voluntary in the beginning, but now in modern it has been converted into modified shape of premium.
The marine policies of the present forms were sold in the beginning of fourteenth century by the Brugians. On the demand of the inhabitants of Burges, the Count of Flanders permitted in the year 1310, the established in this Town of a charter of Assurance, by means of which the merchants could insure their goods, exposed to the risks of the sea. The insurance development was not confined to the Lombards and to the Hansa merchants, it spread throughout Spain, Portugal, France, Holland and England. The marine form and lending prominence of Lombards merchants got a prominent section of the London City. They built homes there and took the name of Lombard Street. Later on, this street became famous in insurance history. The Lloyd's coffee-house gave an impetus to develop the marine insurance.
Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Company
Markel American Insurance Company
Zurich Insurance Company
Chubb Insurance Company
there are a lot of marine insurance companies in the world.
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