2022, Vol. 5, Issue 2

author(s)
Pooja Devi and Dr. Suresh Kumar

abstract
Human beings have been in search of security right from nomadic days. The history of mankind is a history of the search for security. Man had to face dangers and risk which threatened his very existence. As an individual he would have found it difficult to combat these external dangers. He therefore started living in a group, thereby ensuring group security and cover against possible external dangers. The greatest risk was of course, that of death, from wild animals, snakes, crocodiles and other crawling creatures and also from natural calamities, such as floods, fires and earthquakes. The function of insurance is to protect one against losses he cannot afford. This is done by transferring the risks of a person, business, or organization known as, the “insured” to an insurance company, known as the “insurer”. The insurer then reimburses the insured for “covered” losses i.e ; those losses it pays for under the terms of the policy. In India, insurance has a deep-rooted history. It finds mention in the writings of Manu (Manusmrithi), Yagnavalkya (Dharamasastra) and Kautilya (Arthasastra). The writings talk in terms of pooling of resources that could be redistributed in times of calamities such as fire, floods, epidemics and famine. This was probably a precursor to modern day insurance. Ancient Indian history has preserved the earliest traces of insurances in the form of marine trade loans and carriers contracts. Insurance in India has evolved overtime heavily drawing from other countries, England in particular. The New India Assurance Company Limited (NIACL), The Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OICL), The United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL) and the National Insurance Company (NICL) Limited have been selected for the present study. As for as the analysis and interpretation is concerned the trend, Anova method has been applied for the present paper.