History of the creation and development of insurance in Russia
The long existence of the serfdom and the slow development of the economy acted as the main factors hindering the development of insurance in Russia. This type of activity developed more slowly here than in other countries.
The first lines of insurance in Russia provided for the payment of compensation for damage to property from fires. At first, this market was dominated by foreign investors. But a significant outflow of capital due to the large profits of these entrepreneurs pushed government authorities to participate in the insurance business.
A brief overview of the role of the state in the development of insurance in Tsarist Russia is manifested in the following significant events:
- 1827 - the establishment by Baron Stieglitz, together with other Russian entrepreneurs, of the “Russian Fire Insurance Company”, which owned the monopoly right of insurance, thanks to the Tsar’s Decree of Nicholas I.
- 1835 – the creation of the “Life” society, which began with personal insurance in Russia, but with the development of economic processes expanded its interests to other areas.
- 1864 – adoption of the “Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions”, which provided freedom of action in the field of fire insurance of rural buildings.
- 1913 – the peak of the development of insurance in Tsarist Russia, when the volume of insurance premiums reached 205 million rubles.
After the 1917 revolution, insurance in Russia, like other areas of the economy, underwent major changes. The long civil war and subsequent devastation significantly slowed down the development of the state, which could not but affect insurance activities.
Due to economic difficulties, the Bolshevik government abolished state insurance in the property sector. Private insurance activities also did not have the opportunity to develop due to the government policies pursued at that time.
In 1921, the main insurance organization Gosstrakh was created. And a couple of years later, after the monetary reform, the legislation provided for the possibility of personal insurance.
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Victory in the Great Patriotic War allowed Gosstrakh to receive shares of German, Austrian and Hungarian companies as part of reparations.
By 1989, with a total population of 148 million people in the USSR, 125 million of them were participants in voluntary insurance in various fields. But this figure was significantly lower than in more developed economic states, where there were up to six such agreements for each resident.
The developments of the Soviet insurance system were taken into account in recent history, during the development of the modern Russian state. At the end of the last and beginning of this century, new directions appeared in the Russian insurance market that corresponded to global trends in the development of insurance.
Currently, more than seven hundred insurers are registered in Russia, with the share of insurance premiums in the overall GDP of about three percent, with a similar value for developed countries - up to ten percent.
History of the creation of various types of insurance activities in Russia and in the world
The following is a brief history of the main milestones in the development of various areas of insurance in Russia and in the world.
Property sphere
The first brief mentions of the history of property insurance are known from the 4th millennium BC, when carriers from Mesopotamia (the territory of modern southern Iraq) were compensated for losses from loss or damage to cargo.
In the Middle Ages, transactions for the protection of property were noted in Italy in the 13th century, extending to maritime transport.
A modern brief history of the emergence and consistent development of property insurance in Russia includes the following stages:
- the first is associated with the name of Empress Catherine II, who signed the Decree on state mortgage lending in 1876;
- the second (from 1827 to 1918) – the time of the formation of private insurers and the development of the role of the state;
- the third (from 1918 to 1991) – Soviet insurance, with the monopoly role of the state in protecting property;
- the fourth is modern Russia.
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Currently, as legislation develops, opportunities for insurance protection of property are gradually being realized.
Personal insurance
Personal insurance, in addition to life protection, involves maintaining a person’s usual level of income in the event of deterioration of health and as a result of various injuries and consequences of accidents.
The first brief mentions of this type of protection in history are known from the times of Ancient Rome. During the Middle Ages, this activity was used to circumvent the ban on usury imposed by the church.
Since the sixteenth century, this system has become significantly more complex, and government authorities began to play an increasingly important role in this type of activity.
In Russia, personal insurance developed more slowly than in more developed European countries. The state began to participate in this process in 1835, with the creation of the first official insurance company.
The process of development of the history of this area was completed in 1912, with the adoption at the legislative level of an obligation to insure workers by employers.
Liability Insurance
Historical examples of liability insurance have been known since ancient times, most common in the field of maritime transport. The date of the first known contract in this area of insurance protection is 1347, which insured the cargo of the Santa Clara ship, transported from Genoa to Mallorca.
Liability insurance was fully developed in France by the mid-nineteenth century, where insurance coverage extended to owners of cars and horses.
With the development of entrepreneurship, the role of liability protection in history has increased. The legal framework was gradually improved. The first example of a brief set of laws, which became the basis in the history of the creation of subsequent standards in this area, should be considered the German Civil Code, which has been in force since 1900.
Entrepreneurial business risks
A brief history of the emergence and development of entrepreneurship can be characterized in a similar way. From ancient times to the present day, this area of insurance protection has become increasingly widespread.
It is difficult to imagine the modern world without compensation for losses from business risks. But the current regulatory framework and adopted rules have been formed taking into account the experience of past years and centuries.
Specific risks
As economic development progressed, the insurance business in history was enriched with the following areas of protection:
- from technical risks – associated with insufficient resources of the insurer; take into account the inadequacy of insurance rates, the risk of catastrophic damage and other losses caused by incorrect actions and low reliability of the insurance organization;
- from investment risks – return of losses associated with incorrect valuation of assets when investing funds;
- from non-technical risks - caused by the danger of non-fulfillment of obligations by insurers associated with external factors (refusal of subcontractors, failures in management, etc.).
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These areas of insurance activity are directly related to its specifics and have developed as the role of this type of activity in the global economy increases.
