Travel insurance and international health information resource               Dial USA 1-800-279-2290 or  Intl  1-608-756-2290

The History of Insurance

The roots of insurance might be traced to Babylonia, where traders were encouraged to assume the risks of the caravan trade through loans that were repaid (with interest) only after the goods had arrived safely—a practice resembling bottomry and given legal force in the Code of Hammurabi (c.2100 B.C.). The Phoenicians and the Greeks applied a similar system to their seaborne commerce. The Romans used burial clubs as a form of life insurance, providing funeral expenses for members and later payments to the survivors.

With the growth of towns and trade in Europe, the medieval guilds undertook to protect their members from loss by fire and shipwreck, to ransom them from captivity by pirates, and to provide decent burial and support in sickness and poverty. By the middle of the 14th cent., as evidenced by the earliest known insurance contract (Genoa, 1347), marine insurance was practically universal among the maritime nations of Europe. In London, Lloyd's Coffee House (1688) was a place where merchants, shipowners, and underwriters met to transact business. By the end of the 18th cent. Lloyd's had progressed into one of the first modern insurance companies. In 1693 the astronomer Edmond Halley constructed the first mortality table, based on the statistical laws of mortality and compound interest. The table, corrected (1756) by Joseph Dodson, made it possible to scale the premium rate to age; previously the rate had been the same for all ages.

1 World Travel Insurance also offers vacation protection plans that offer trip cancellation, interruption, delay and baggage insurance online along with some travel medical and evacuation. We even offer multi-trip plans and travel medical plans for students! Most plans include emergency evacuation, assistance, baggage, trip interruption coverage, optional hazardous sports cover and much more. Travel Insurance Plan can even supply online international health insurance for expatriates and some local nationals where conditions permit.  Get a travel insurance quote and then purchase your protection online via an on-line secure and encrypted server with several companies to choose from.  Each company will have many options and coverage's available to adjust to your specific needs.  After purchasing online, you will then receive a policy confirmation by email and card and policy kit by post or courier. Contact us if you have special insurance requirements or questions.

Anyone who travels or resides outside their country of residence knows that traveling can be risky. Also, issues related to foreign healthcare, languages, policies, cultures, currencies and the location and access to adequate healthcare are seldom handled by domestic medical plans. Why not travel with the knowledge that you are  protected by a plan that meets your own unique vacation insurance needs and budget. Claims are paid by the insurance company and/or administrator directly.  There are many unique situations that need unique plan designs and/or coverage's.  Please contact us if you cannot find a travel insurance plan to fit your need. 

Questions about what plan you should have when traveling?  Visit our plan Advisor Guide

• US citizen traveling overseas for 15 days up to 12 months

• Foreign national visiting the United States for 15 days up to 12 months

• Immigrants residing in the United States for 15 days up to 12 months

• Non-US citizens residing anywhere in the world

• Evacuation coverage for catastrophic situations

• Trip cancellation, interruption / delay, lost or stolen baggage, missed connection

• Group travel insurance for businesses and organizations

• Tour group insurance

• Business travel insurance

• H1 Visa travel health insurance

• Missionary traveling to a foreign country

• International Student studying overseas (abroad)

Questions about Insurance Definitions and Travel Insurance plans available?  Visit our Insurance Resource Guide

• Insurance Glossary

• Travel Insurance Tips

• Government Warning website

• Other Information about travel insurance

Travel insurance products are available for sale in the following US states:  Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Travel insurance for US residents, students, missionaries, expatriates, and foreign nationals  traveling abroad in the following countries:  Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, People's Republic of Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, North Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Macao S.A.R., Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives Islands, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Burma, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestinian Authority, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tome e Principe, Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Serbia-Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Toll Free USA: 1-877-279-7959
Non-USA: 1-608-755-7959

 Travel cancellation insurance and travel health insurance information resource