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The concept of spreading risk dates back to the Code of Hammurabi from around 1750 BC in Babylon. In the case of a voyage, merchants could take out a bottomry contract – a maritime agreement where the borrower, often a shipowner, pledged the hull of their vessel as collateral. Matters have evolved: while bottomry was a private agreement, in the case of the Strait of Hormuz closure, war-risk premiums spiked to between 1% and 5% of the ship’s hull value, or between $1mn and $15mn per transit.

Retail insurance products have also undergone a sea change. Naked Insurance and Pineapple launched to the public in 2018 and both have focused on what gives them a competitive advantage: technology. Sizwe Mase, business development lead at Root Platform, a low-code, end-to-end insurance technology platform, says the average customer will now benchmark the ease-of-use of their insurance products with other platforms. “No customer wants to have a quick and easy experience on their banking app and have to endure a very slow and tedious experience when dealing with their insurer,” he says.