How did it all start?

Hey guys, Kristin Francy here!  Ever wonder how insurance got started in the first place? Here’s a simple scenario to help give you an idea of how insurance began…

Imagine yourself out on the prairie with Ma & Pa Ingles.  Your barn burns down.  Bummer.  No one expects a disaster like this to happen to themselves, it always happens to “other people”. Luckily, all your neighbors sympathize with your position and decide to help you out in the rebuilding process.  Everyone pulls together and has a barn raising event. Pa directs the building efforts and Ma feeds everyone.

Fast forward a few years. Yet another tragedy occurs, and as luck would have it, you again fall victim. Money becomes more available and the neighbors can’t make it to your barn raising, but instead give you some money towards the efforts.  From a savvy businessman’s point of a view, he sees an opportunity to not only collect money in a more organized fashion, but have it readily available when disaster does strike. He decides that if he collects a bit of money from everyone and keeps it all together then when something happens there is a pot of money to pull from to rebuild.

Move forward another few years.  A company is created that collects the money, manages that money and pays when the barn burns down.  No longer do you have to rely on the charity of others. The important part is picking a company that has a reputation for having the money available when it’s needed.  More on that later.

-Kristin Francy, Insurance and Financial Service Agent