Americans collectively purchased a total of $3.3 trillion in new life insurance coverage in 2020. As a result, applications for live insurance policies showed an increase of 4% in 2020. Life insurance is becoming even more valued by customers as a way of providing them with and their families the protection they need.
Read the article Life Insurance Trends to see how the pandemic shaped life insurance in 2021.
The History
Though the concept seems like a feature of contemporary society, life insurance can actually be traced to around 600–100 BCE in ancient Greece and Rome. These sophisticated early societies provided a form of both health and life insurance to some of their citizens. In ancient times in particular, the idea was initiated by a Roman military general, Gaius Marius, who, allegedly, conceptualized a sort of “burial club” among his fellow soldiers in which, should one of them be killed in a military campaign, the survivors would band together to pay for the funeral expenses.
While the idea at the time was initially only applied to soldiers, the concept later spread throughout ancient Rome and was eventually adopted by everyday citizens. These small organizations later expanded this idea to ultimately providing a financial safety net for the family members of those who have fallen in battle.
