Michael Albert, the writer, identified the twin origins of insurance: the mutualisation of risk in a Swiss village, and the pleasure English gentleman drinking in Lloyd’s coffee house derived from speculation on the fate of ships at sea.
He goes on
Ever since the days of alpine enclaves and wagers on the tides, insurance has been a mix of the socialisation of misfortune and the animal spirits of the professional gambler.Sentences with cadence like that are just pure talent.
