In ancient Rome, from X-XI century the marine insurance was very popular, contracted by captains for the construction of new utensils and of merchants to purchase goods, it was above the interest rate of ordinary loans but the owner of the vessel would not be obligated to return the loan when he was attacked by pirates, kidnapped or if the ship would crash.
This type of loan has lost its importance in the thirteenth century as a result of issue of papal law prohibiting the taking of interest (usury), proof of the conclusion of such an agreement was signed by the one who would establish the policy, and the oldest documented insurance contract of this type comes from Genoa from 1347. In Rome mutual aid funeral allowances would be paid, often lifelong for former legionnaires.
In the Middle Ages, such characteristics were passed on to merchants and artisans to members of a specific guild to disburse the needy, and the sick, being a financial assistance during their life and after death would have assisted families in the cost of a burial.
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