Insurance is a device to
handle risk, and its primary purpose is to substitute certainty for uncertainty. Man has
always been at risk both from accidents of nature and from actions by his fellow
men. Many
were resigned to accept these uncertainties as an inevitable part of life.
Considered an economic and social activity, insurance is an ambiguous phenomenon. It
originated as a means of guarding against the most basic and individual risks and has
matured into a set of complex arrangements facilitating economic transactions and
harmonious social existence throughout sophisticated societies.
