The purchase of car insurance coverage is a necessity for anyone who wants to operate a vehicle in any of the 50 states, and all have strict rules about what drivers are required to purchase in terms of coverage as well as what documentation they must keep on hand when they are driving. While regulations vary from location to location, and states may make yearly changes to their rules, general insurance law in the United States mandates that car insurance must cover not only damage to vehicles involved in an accident, but people as well, as the ability to drive on public property of any kind – be it a freeway, residential street or dirt county road – is considered a privilege, not a right.
While this concept of car insurance coverage seems obvious and straightforward to consumers in today's market, this has not always been the case. Since its beginnings over 5000 years ago, insurance has undergone almost yearly changes in order to transform it into the concept we are familiar with. Though no hard data exists, common knowledge holds that the concept of auto insurance began with the Chinese around 3000 BC and initially took the form of marine insurance to protect the cargo of ships against loss due to sinking or piracy. As the sailing industry evolved over course of human history, so too did marine insurance. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the Dutch began to form merchant guilds, which collectively insured ships owned by individuals, effectively creating the world's first insurance companies. By 1255, the concept of premiums had been introduced in Italy, and insurance contracts began to make their way on to parchment. The oldest known marine policy to have been issued and recorded was in 1384 on a ship named the Santa Clara.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the development of the automobile led to an insurance revolution. Initially, cars were not required to carry insurance as they were not a form of bulk transport, but governments quickly realized the potential for disaster should injuries occur on public land. Marine insurance was quickly adapted to be of use for the new vehicles, and the concept of modern car insurance coverage was born. Over the last century, coverage has become more complicated and has come to include things like medical coverage for treatments after an accident, as well as the concept of comprehensive car insurance and the issuing of discounts for those with years of coverage behind them or a clean driving record. While new developments in transport are no doubt forthcoming, vehicle insurance will continue to play an important role in the safety and security of motorists.
