South Dakota Supreme Court Invents Policy Ambiguity, Denies Med Pay Subrogation

The origins of auto insurance can be traced all the way back to the ancient Chinese when investors took out insurance policies on cargo ships crossing the high seas.

This later became known as marine insurance and is still a system used to protect against losses of ships (hull insurance) and their cargo.

These meager beginnings of marine insurance were brought by the Lombards to northern Europe and England in the 13th Century. By the 17th Century, London, with the emergence of the Lloyd’s of London Association, had developed into a leading center for marine insurance.

Auto insurance is a spin-off of marine insurance, developed after policymakers decided that operating a motor vehicle on public property was a privilege and motorists were required to purchase car insurance to protect innocent third parties against injury or property damage.

The first car insurance policy that offered liability coverage was written by an English company in 1895.