Hubert Bruce Fuller
Published: 2015-07-06
Total Pages: 582
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Excerpt from The Law of Accident and Employer's Liability Insurance Accident insurance is of comparatively modern origin. In the seventeenth century the idea of insuring individuals against accidents seems to have been first contemplated in France. But not until the middle of the nineteenth century was the first English company formed for this purpose. The first American company was not organized until about 1860. In England the policies were framed for the purpose of paying definite indemnities for specific injuries, such as the loss of a limb, blindness, etc., The earliest American policies were based on their English prototypes. They were not adapted to the newer country, with its different customs and habits of life, its varied occupations and risks, and the companies which had embarked in the business met with disaster and failure. Shortly the pioneers in the industry undertook the scientific construction of a system of accident insurance, evolving new tables of rates, new classifications of risks, and new methods of business, based upon conditions in the United States. In a short time it was demonstrated that by a statistical and mathematical calculation a table of risks could be prepared on the same principle employed in the construction of mortality tables by life insurance companies, upon which could be based a reliable and equitable system of accident insurance. In the United States accident insurance was inaugurated with the sale of so-called "accident tickets" to travelers on railroads covering only risks of travel, and in most instances good only for periods of twenty-four hours or the duration of specific trips. These tickets were sold at railroad stations. It soon became manifest that only a small percentage, not above ten per cent., of accidents resulted from traveling. Gradually the policies were made broader and more comprehensive in their scope. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.