1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Until recently the main object and concern of all business ventures is perpetual sustainability and continuity in operation with a sound financial position, this implies, carrying out your business activities in an on going stable manner, and making profits, to ensure stability of its operations over along period of time. This is hardly attainable to most business ventures, given the numerous uncertainties that the ventures are exposed to. The extent of losses that business ventures experience leading to ultimate closure of such ventures is interestingly surprising. A scenario that would otherwise be shouldered by insurance companies and compensation to that effect is made. Early instances of insurance; Forms of insurance were known to the Romans and to some extent were practiced among the Collegia In certain respects tl1ese bodies resembled our benefit societies. For example, they provided for burial and also made some form of provision for promotion among the soldiers in their organizations. In reality, they were based on the insurance principles of contribution and indemnity, since they accepted from their members a certain stipulated sum and in return agreed to perform certain services. Demosthenes describes marine loans made to the ancient Greeks; we also have record that insurance existed among the Chinese 2500 years ago. In none of these early instances, however, did insurance reach anything like large proportions. In fact, so far as we know, it entirely disappeared, many centuries passing before there was a revival. It is true that certain laws among the Romans governing annuities necessitated a mortality table, but it was, however, for this sole purpose and apparently not in any sense an insurance matter