Mutual Insurance 1550-2015

In the modern§Western world, we tend to be insured by the state or for-profit insurers. We§have privileged this system over mutual or micro-insurance, whose long and rich§history we tend to forget. Yet, mutual and micro-insurance is becoming§increasingly important, both in the Western and in the non-Western world and§bears re-examination.§§This book traces§the track record of mutual insurance from 1550 to the present, examining§provisions for burial, sickness, unemployment, old age, and widowhood. The§author seeks to address such topics as the type of risks micro-insurance§covered between 1550 and 2015; how it was organized throughout its history; who§provided the coverage; and how contributions, benefit levels, and conditions§have changed.§§Importantly, the§author explores why this system has worked through, and endured, the test of§time. Mutual insurance can, for instance, overcome classic insurance problems§such as adverse selection and moral hazards. The author demonstrates that the§study of the position micro-insurance historically assumed in mixed economies§of welfare presents interesting lessons for today's insurance market, as well§as for today's mutualism.§