Professional Guilds and the History of Insurance: A Comparative Analysis

German literature claims that modern insurance (law) has three roots: marine insurance, the co-operative protection provided by medieval and early modern guilds, and state-run insurance schemes. By contrast, English scholars suggest that there is only one root for modern insurance (law): marine insurance (law). The literature on the developments in other European countries follows similar narratives. It seems that in these countries, guilds have had no influence on the formation of insurance. The aim of the present volume is to test these different narratives. More specifically, the objective is to assess from a comparative perspective (i) whether it is possible to analyse in terms of insurance the support offered by medieval and early modern professional guilds to members in need and (ii) whether guild support had a lasting impact on the development of modern insurance and insurance law. To this end, the present volume covers various European countries followed by a comparative analysis.