Life insurance started way back to 100 B.C., when Caius Marius, a Roman military leader, created a burial club among his troops.
When one died, other members would pay for the funeral expenses. Similar clubs followed suit, as Romans believed improper burials led to unhappy ghosts. Eventually, the clubs included a benefit for the survivors of the deceased.
After the Roman Empire fell, life insurance disappeared until 1662, when Londoner John Graunt saw predictable patterns of longevity in a defined group of people.
In 1693, astronomer Edmond Halley made the first mortality table to provide a link between life premiums and life spans.
In 1759, the Presbyterian Synod of Philadelphia set up the first life insurance corporation in America for the benefit of Presbyterian ministers and their dependent’s.
After that, life insurance took off to where it is today – an essential component of the financial well-being of any family.