We gotta dream to see it, we gotta act to reach it.

This Song by Huawei Mobile just speak our language.

Insurance is nothing more than transferring and distributing of risk in monetary economy. It is a mutual agreement for mutual aid; but way before monetary economy,  the following is what insurance is about:-

Centuries ago, in a fishing village in rural China, the sole source of support for each family is their daily catch. Every man in the family is destined to be a fisherman.

In this village the stories of not coming home fathers or brothers; lost at the sea, has become part of life. Every fleet that went to the sea is returning to the shore with one less fisherman at least; only to be replaced by younger fishermen.

 Accepted as faith the villagers strongly believing in praying to 'Sea God' . Offering were made to the temple.

Each lost fisherman is not just a lost of love one but also a lost of support for the entire family; family without adult male or family with only young children. These family have to rely on other families to survive.
This went on for decades.

One day a wise man have a brilliant idea. He set up a donation box in the temple for each fisherman to make their offering. On top of praying with these offering, these offering will be distributed to support the family of the lost fisherman.

From then on, fishermen go to the sea without worry.

That is insurance before modern trade and before monetary economy. Today, insurance has evolves into a complex financial system available to everyone.

Thus insurance is born out inherently of helping those in needs.  This is why it lasted for centuries and irreplaceable by other financial system.