Life Insurance

- Annuities seem to date from an early period. The methods of calculation used before the third century were extremely crude. The first to apply correct mathematical principles to the valuation of human life was Johan De Wit. grand pensionary of Holland, whose report to the States-General on life annuities was made 1671. In England, risks were taken upon lives for short periods by private underwriters in the 16th century. Casualty a urances seem to have been devised originally in the 17th century to provide ransom-money for such pilgrims or travelers as might be taken by pirates. These soon degenerated into insurance wagers or bets, and were forbidden sor by law. Ab. 1700 several companies were formed to secure annuities to the widows and orphans of subscribers. In 1706 a society was chartered which aimed to distribute a certain sum among the representatives of those who had died within the year. In 1734 they undertook to guarantee £100. All ages were rated alike. The Equitable, the first society which took account of differences of age, began busine 1762; in 1800 Great Britain had 8 societies. in 1880 107, with a total of a urances in force of £420,000,000. A scheme for obtaining annuities and insurance of a limited amount through the General P. O. went into effect 1865. Nowhere has the busine of Life Insurance been developed so extensively as in the U. S. For a time after 1865 it increased with unexampled rapidity; in 1864 the total of insurances in companies which reported to the N. Y. Insurance Dept. amounted to but $395,703,058; in 1867 to $1,161,729,776; in 1871 to $2,023,884,955; Dec. 31, 1894, to $5,566,166,664, in 56 companies; in 350 a e ment companies and orders $7,482,286.000. The insurance of men's lives (that for ransom of captives excepted), was prohibited in the Netherlands 1570. in Genoa 1588, in France 1681. The oldest French life company was founded in 1819.