The antecedents
and the Middle Ages
1. Ancient History
Since the dawn of time, humans have sought to satisfy a fundamental need: safety .
The uncertainty of the future and the unpredictability of events have always generated anxiety and fear. For this reason, since ancient times, humans have sought to reduce or eliminate the sense of vulnerability, developing strategies to collectively address the risks of everyday life.
For centuries, the only true means of protection was the solidarity of one's social group. The family, tribe, and clan offered concrete support to members affected by damaging events such as the death of a loved one or of working animals, a bad harvest, a fire, a theft, or other calamities.
In these situations, mutual aid was not only desirable, but essential for survival.
At the same time, agreements began to emerge between individuals exposed to the same risks, who pledged to help one another in times of need. This is how the first forms of mutual assistance associations developed, based on the principle of cooperation and risk sharing.
During the Early Middle Ages, with the growth of cities and the development of guilds, political and religious associations also took shape that offered their members a form of economic and social protection in the event of illness, death, or poverty.
However, all these forms of mutual pension provision were still far from modern insurance schemes. These early experiences still lacked the contractual structure and the intervention of a third party—the company—that characterize insurance as we know it today.
SOURCE: Mansutti Foundation, The Fascinating History of Insurance, Silvana Editoriale, Milan, 2015
SOURCE: P. Masci, The History of Insurance: Risk, Uncertainty and …, bpastudies.org, 2011
SOURCE: Massimiliano Maggioni & Giuseppe Turchetti, The Origins and Role of Insurance in Society, IDEAS/RePEc, 2024
Related content
A condition in which the outcome of a future event cannot be predicted with certainty. It is a fundamental component of the human experience and, historically, one of the main reasons why forms of collective protection such as insurance were developed. Uncertainty transforms risk into a social issue to be shared and managed.
What is uncertainty?
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A great orator, his ability to communicate was central to his work. Even today, insurance relies on communication : to explain the risk , the services, and the benefits offered. In this sense, San Bernardino can be seen as a precursor to insurance communication: words as a tool for protection and security.
San Bernardino of Siena, De contractibus et usuris (1431), modern edition edited by Giacomo Todeschini, Bologna, 2003
Todeschini, Giacomo, Franciscan Wealth: From Voluntary Poverty to Market Society, Bologna, 2004
Treccani Italian Encyclopedia, entry: “Saint Bernardino of Siena,” https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/bernardino-da-siena
Fontana, Giuseppe, The Ethics of Economics in the Middle Ages: The Economic Thought of Scholastic Theologians, Rome, 2001
Toniolo, Giuseppe, Writings on Christian Economy, Life and Thought, Milan, 2001
Treccani Italian Encyclopedia, History of Economic Thought (https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/storia-del-pensiero-economico)
Treccani Italian Encyclopedia, entry “Bernardino da Siena – The Italian Contribution to the History of Thought: Economics” (https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/bernardino-da-siena_%28Il-Contributo-italiano-alla-storia-del-Pensiero%3A-Economia%29/)
8. Saint Bernardino of Siena
One of the increasingly topical issues in the economic and financial sector is business ethics . But perhaps not everyone knows that Saint Bernardine of Siena expressed his views on the morality and legality of contracts, particularly insurance contracts, over six centuries ago.
A beloved Franciscan preacher, he captivated crowds to the point of moving them. He brought his preaching to many cities in central and northern Italy, resisting unfounded accusations of heresy. He refused the appointment as bishop of Siena and Urbino to devote himself to his Lenten preaching, and was proclaimed a saint by the Church of Pope Nicholas V in 1450, six years after his death.
He lived at a time when Florence was Europe's leading financial center. He was well versed in business practices and recognized that the prosperity of cities derived from trade and industry. He was a reformer rather than a revolutionary, attentive and practical: he sought to translate scholastic theories into practical applications.
He is considered one of the greatest economists in history. Among his major works is De contractibus et usuris , one of the first treatises on contracts and economic thought . The text opens with a reflection on private property and addresses topics such as the necessity of trade and the ethics that should guide it, up to discussing the fair value of things and their just price.
The crux of the matter remains the delicate issue of usury , credit sales, exchange, and the restitution of illicit gains, central themes for medieval jurists and canonists. At the time, it was believed that only work could legitimately generate income: earnings from interest were illicit, even if modest.
But San Bernardino had a more far-sighted vision: he recognized that at least insurance, as a response to a real need for security, had to be morally accepted and considered just for its social function and public utility.
Related content
A collection of ideas, reflections, and theories that, throughout history, have attempted to understand how people and societies organize the production, exchange, and use of resources. Economic thought arises from scientific studies but also from religious, moral, and philosophical visions.
An example of this is Saint Bernardino of Siena, who in De contractibus et usuris discussed contracts, usury and fair prices, anticipating an ethical reading of insurance as a public utility, for the good of trade.
Economic thought
2. Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a famous medieval explorer and merchant , best known for his extraordinary journey along the Silk Road and for the book “Il Milione”, written during his imprisonment in Genoa between 1298 and 1299.
In this work, which became one of the most important texts of medieval geographical literature, Polo recounts in great detail his travels to the East, in the service of the Mongol Empire and in particular of its ruler Kublai Khan. It was not simply an individual adventure: his experience served as a bridge between distant worlds, between diverse cultures, and opened new trade routes and horizons of knowledge for Europe.
Marco Polo's contribution to the expansion of trade between East and West was fundamental. His tales inspired generations of merchants, navigators, and adventurers, contributing to a growing network of international trade, travel, and commerce. As these movements intensified, however, so did exposure to risk: storms, theft, shipwrecks, conflicts, disease, and unpredictable economic losses. Precisely in this dynamic and uncertain context, the need arose to develop tools to manage and share these risks.
Insurance, understood as an organized system of protection against losses, found its first forms during these centuries. It was also thanks to the expansion promoted by figures like Marco Polo that Europe began to structure concrete responses to commercial uncertainty , giving rise to one of the most enduring and influential inventions in economic history: the insurance contract.
SOURCE: Ken Brownlee, History of Insurance Adjusting, Part 2: The Middle Ages, www.propertycasualty360.com, 2014
Related content
Insurance gave rise to fundamental inventions: the insurance contract, the concept of calculated risk, the premium, the policy, organized mutuality, actuarial statistics, and mutual funds. These tools revolutionized not only the economy but also the social management of uncertainty, giving rise to models of collective protection that are still relevant today.
What inventions originated from the history of insurance?
3. Medieval merchants
Insurance, as we know it today, was born at sea.
To be able to talk about insurance, one or more people must undertake to compensate the insured for the economic damage caused by a future and uncertain event and must carry out this activity professionally, making it their primary source of income.
Well, this happened at the beginning of the fourteenth century essentially thanks to the work of Italian merchants.
During the 14th century, the great Italian mercantile cities, such as Florence and Genoa , were protagonists of a true revolution in the world of trade: the invention of modern insurance.
Intense mercantile activity, especially maritime, entailed enormous risks: shipwrecks , piracy , theft , disease , and war . Furthermore, the instruments of the time were inadequate. They had compasses and astrolabes, but no weather forecasts; nautical charts were sketchy and inaccurate; and navigational equipment was vulnerable to storms and groundings. For this reason, merchants began developing tools to protect their goods and reduce risks.
How the first insurance policies worked:
Merchants entered into insurance contracts in which, in exchange for the payment of a sum (the “ premium ”), another party agreed to compensate the value of the goods in the event of loss or damage.
These contracts were drawn up in writing, often with the assistance of notaries, and represent the first examples of insurance policies in the modern sense.
The routes covered were mainly maritime: Genoa towards the eastern Mediterranean , Florence along the land and sea trade routes across Europe.
Genoa and Florence - different but complementary roles:
Genoa , a major naval and commercial power, was among the first cities to formalize maritime insurance. The first known insurance contract dates back to 1347 and was signed in Genoa.
Florence , less maritime but extremely powerful financially, developed credit and banking instruments that made more sophisticated insurance systems possible. The great banking families (such as the Bardi and the Peruzzi) had a direct interest in reducing shipping risks.
SOURCE: https://conversableeconomist.com/2024/06/25/the-birth-of-insurance-markets-14th-century-italian-maritime-trading/
SOURCE: https://www.mapfre.com/en/insights/insurance/insurance-springboard-prosperity-humanity/
SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz6EJuHL9E8
SOURCE: https://milano.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/25_giugno_11/francesco-mansutti-92-anni-il-maestro-degli-sistenzari-non-siamo-ben-visti-perche-parliamo-di-danni-e-sventure-ma-io-ho-a522fe0e-fee5-46a4-b4a4-e7dcbad9axlk.shtml
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A cultured, multilingual, pragmatic, and God-fearing man, the medieval Italian merchant was a central figure in the economies of maritime cities and communes. He understood the exchange value of all currencies in use. He traveled by land and sea, often along dangerous routes, trading spices, fabrics, metals, and luxury goods. Francesco di Marco Datini was an excellent example.
He was also a banker and negotiator, capable of drawing up contracts, calculating risks, and financing shipments. An insurance agent.
Who was the medieval merchant?
4. The insurance intermediary
Between 1340 and 1380, in late-medieval Florence, a figure destined to become central to the history of insurance emerged: the insurance intermediary .
In an era of intense commercial activity, Florence was one of Europe's leading financial centers, a crossroads for merchants , bankers, and international trade. In this dynamic context, characterized by risky voyages and significant investments, the need arose to more structuredly manage the economic risk associated with the transport of goods by land and sea.
It was precisely to respond to this need that the figure of the intermediary began to emerge: a person who acted as an intermediary between the merchant and the risk guarantor, that is, the person who promised, in exchange for the payment of a premium, to compensate for any losses.
This figure did not act as a direct insurer, but rather played a technical and fiduciary role: he or she knew the market, selected guarantors, negotiated the conditions, and drafted the contracts. In some cases, he or she also operated collectively, representing multiple merchants or guarantors.
Florentine archival documents from the period provide numerous accounts of these intermediaries, who signed the first written insurance contracts in history, particularly in the maritime sector. These policies contained detailed descriptions of the voyage, cargo, premium, and reimbursement terms.
Over time, the insurance intermediary will take on an increasingly professional role, anticipating the modern figure of the broker, and contributing to making insurance an economic mechanism.
efficient, stable and replicable.
SOURCE: Observatory on the Local Labor Market of the University of Padua, Activities and Professionalism in the Veneto Insurance Sector, 2009
SOURCE: Assireno Insurance Services, Origins and Development of Insurance, https://www.assireno.it/origini-e-sviluppo-dellassicurazione/, 2025
Related content
The insurance intermediary is the person who connects the insured with the insurer, helping them choose the most suitable coverage and facilitating the signing of the contract.
The profession originated in the Middle Ages, when international trade required more careful risk management. Professionals performing this role in the maritime sector appeared in Florence and Genoa as early as the 14th century.
Who is the insurance intermediary?
5. Insurance in Genoa
Since the dawn of time, humans have sought to satisfy a fundamental need: safety .
The uncertainty of the future and the unpredictability of events have always generated anxiety and fear. For this reason, since ancient times, humans have sought to reduce or eliminate the sense of vulnerability, developing strategies to collectively address the risks of everyday life.
For centuries, the only true means of protection was the solidarity of one's social group. The family, tribe, and clan offered concrete support to members affected by damaging events such as the death of a loved one or of working animals, a bad harvest, a fire, a theft, or other calamities.
In these situations, mutual aid was not only desirable, but essential for survival.
At the same time, agreements began to emerge between individuals exposed to the same risks, who pledged to help one another in times of need. This is how the first forms of mutual assistance associations developed, based on the principle of cooperation and risk sharing.
During the Early Middle Ages, with the growth of cities and the development of guilds, political and religious associations also took shape that offered their members a form of economic and social protection in the event of illness, death, or poverty.
However, all these forms of mutual pension provision were still far from modern insurance schemes. These early experiences still lacked the contractual structure and the intervention of a third party—the company—that characterize insurance as we know it today.
SOURCE: Treccani Encyclopedia, Insurance, [https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/assicurazione_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)
SOURCE: JSTOR, The Earliest Insurance Contract (1343, Genoa) https://www.jstor.org/stable/251881
SOURCE: Wikipedia (IT and EN ed.), Insurance history, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance#History
Related content
In the Late Middle Ages (circa 11th–15th centuries), Genoa was one of the most powerful maritime republics in the Mediterranean. Thanks to its maritime trade, contacts with the East, and the strength of its fleet, it became a leading economic and financial center. Governed by noble families and municipal institutions, the city developed urbanly, building churches, palaces, and ports, and asserted a proud and cosmopolitan identity, linked to trade, navigation, and international commerce.
Genoa in the Late Middle Ages
In 1358, Francesco Petrarca called Genoa "The Superb" in a letter to Boccaccio, praising its power and majesty. He admired its imposing walls, its rich trade, and its role as queen of the sea. The expression, born as a tribute, has remained a symbol of the city's identity, evoking the pride and grandeur achieved by Genoa in the Middle Ages.
When Genoa became “The Superb”
6. The invention of printing
The invention of movable type printing by Johannes Gutenberg around 1455 was one of the most important cultural revolutions in human history.
For the first time, knowledge could be disseminated on a large scale, quickly, accurately, and relatively cheaply. This new tool not only influenced religion, science, and literature, but also had significant effects on the world of commerce and economic practices, including insurance.
Until then, insurance contracts were handwritten by notaries or public officials. This made each document unique, expensive to produce, and often difficult to systematically consult or store. With the printing press, it was possible to begin disseminating standard policy templates, commercial law manuals, insurance forms, and regulations, helping to make insurance a more accessible, understandable, and replicable practice.
In maritime and commercial cities such as Genoa , Florence , and Venice , where marine insurance contracts were already being drawn up in the 14th century, printing facilitated greater traceability and regularization of practices. Civil authorities and merchant guilds also began publishing written regulations, contributing to the creation of a more stable and transparent regulatory framework.
Printing, therefore, not only accelerated the diffusion of technical and economic knowledge, but also contributed to the development of trust between the parties involved. In the history of insurance, the transition from oral or manuscript contracts to written and reproducible policies was a fundamental evolution towards a modern, structured, and legally recognized system.
SOURCE: Mansutti Foundation, MUDA Heritage, Pedro de Santarém, On Insurance and Merchime, written in 1488 and published in 1552
SOURCE: Wikipedia (IT and EN ed.), Insurance history, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance#History
Related content
Around 1455, Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type printing in Mainz, Germany. Using a metal alloy for type and a press inspired by wine presses, Gutenberg revolutionized book production. The first great printed masterpiece was the 42-line Bible. Printing made possible the rapid and precise dissemination of documents, including the first written insurance contracts.
From Gutenberg's workshop to the global diffusion of knowledge
7. Francesco Datini
Francesco di Marco Datini, a famous merchant from Prato, was one of the first entrepreneurs to systematically use and practice insurance as a tool to protect his business.
Active between the 14th and 15th centuries, Datini was both an insured person and an insurer, as demonstrated by his Quaderni di Sicurtà , registers in which he precisely noted all his insurance transactions.
In a letter from 1397, Datini complained of having lost in one fell swoop what he had gained from several deals, a sign of how unstable and risky this industry was. Despite the occasional losses, Datini firmly believed in the value of insurance, so much so that he always guaranteed the shipments of his goods. In another letter, he rebuked one of his agents for failing to insure a cargo destined for Barcelona .
To reassure him, his partner wrote words that still sound relevant today:
Don't worry that I'll send our merchandise anywhere without security: I want us to earn less and live securely.
Translated: Don't worry, I will never ship our goods without insurance: I prefer to earn less, but live safely.
These testimonies show how, already in the fourteenth century, insurance was perceived as a useful tool for dealing with the uncertainty of trade. Datini was not only a skilled merchant, but
also a pioneer in thinking about risk management in a modern way, anticipating concepts that would become central in the following centuries.
SOURCE: Mansutti Foundation, The Fascinating History of Insurance, Silvana Editoriale, Milan, 2015
SOURCE: P. Masci, The History of Insurance: Risk, Uncertainty and …, bpastudies.org , 2011
SOURCE: Massimiliano Maggioni & Giuseppe Turchetti, The Origins and Role of Insurance in Society, IDEAS/RePEc, 2024
Related content
A condition in which the outcome of a future event cannot be predicted with certainty. It is a fundamental component of the human experience and, historically, one of the main reasons why forms of collective protection such as insurance were developed. Uncertainty transforms risk into a social issue to be shared and managed.
What is uncertainty?