R.F.O. WEALTH ADVICE

11 In the past, the perception of risk in life was decidedly undervalued – suffice it to recall all the famines, wars and conflicts between peoples causing death, illness and injuries for centuries on end – and it was only in more recent times, i.e. the Age of Reason or Enlightenment in the XVII and XVIII centuries, that the bases were set for the creation of insurance and risk coverage. An innovative idea based on the conviction that the world and its possible future events could be forecast and calculated. However, not all cultures initially adopted such thoughts. In southern Europe it was only after the catastrophic Lisbon Earthquake in 1755 that risk perception and opinion about destiny changed, going beyond the traditional interpretation of the divine omnipotence. With the end of a series of wars in Europe and the Anglo-American conflict in 1815, insurance finally began to spread on a vast scale beyond Europe and the United States. The latter had imported the British invention almost from its inception. With growing trade and as a result of emigration, the British system was gradually adopted in most of the colonies in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It remained a privilege limited to European settlers and traders who insured themselves and their companies. Local companies rarely embraced the concept, preferring in its stead the traditional means of protection against misfortune. Most of the non-European companies preferred family and/or community-based solidarity in addition to a great faith in God. The Europeans initially were not interested in insuring others besides themselves. A BIT OF HISTORY