The Third Global Conference on the History of Risk and Insurance took place on July 3–4, 2025 at SGH Warsaw School of Economics in Warsaw, Poland. This conference continues the tradition established by its two predecessors held in Seville (2019) and Basel (2022), building on a growing international forum for historical risk and insurance research. The 2025 edition focused on investigating insurance as a crucial element of social development, economic progress, and the globalization of financial services, examining how societies have managed risk from the earliest times to the modern age of artificial intelligence. A particular regional focus was placed on Central and Eastern Europe, while maintaining a global perspective that combines broad international outlooks with detailed micro-historical case studies. By exploring how humanity has coped with risk across different eras and cultures, the conference aimed to shed light on the historical foundations of contemporary risk management and encourage lessons for today’s emerging challenges.
The conference was organized by the Department of Risk and Insurance at SGH Warsaw School of Economics, in cooperation with the Department of Insurance at the Poznań University of Economics and Business and the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science at St. John’s University (USA). This collaborative academic effort was supported by leading industry partners and sponsors, including TUW PZUW and PKO Ubezpieczenia, whose top executives delivered opening addresses. Notably, Andrzej Jarczyk (President of TUW PZUW) and Tomasz Mańko (Vice-President of PKO Ubezpieczenia) welcomed participants and highlighted the importance of linking historical insight with the challenges of the modern insurance landscape.
The conference also benefited from the involvement of several supporting institutions, reflecting its interdisciplinary and international character. These included:
Their contributions – intellectual, organisational, and institutional – helped make the event a platform for meaningful interdisciplinary exchange across academic and professional communities.
The conference featured high-profile keynote addresses that set an insightful tone. On Day 1, historian Giovanni Ceccarelli (University of Milano) delivered a keynote speech titled “Dealing with Uncertainty: Insurance and Maritime Risks in Renaissance Florence”. This address explored how Renaissance-era merchants and insurers in Florence managed maritime perils, drawing parallels between early modern risk-taking and contemporary uncertainty management. Ceccarelli’s historical perspective illustrated enduring principles in insurance – such as diversification and information sharing – that remain relevant to modern practitioners. On Day 2, the keynote was given by Irma Dugelby Pointelin (Director, Museo CUSE), who spoke on “Shaken Ground, Rising Shields: The History of Earthquakes and Earthquake Insurance in Mexico.” Pointelin’s talk examined how communities in Mexico developed insurance solutions in response to devastating earthquakes, highlighting the long-term evolution of disaster risk financing. This provided a compelling case of how historical experience with natural catastrophes can inform current approaches to resilience and insurance coverage for emerging climate-related risks.
In addition to the keynotes, an opening panel discussion brought together industry leaders and academics to bridge past and present. Titled “Insurance: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges,” this panel featured Andrzej Jarczyk (PZUW), Tomasz Mańko (PKO Ubezpieczenia), Mariusz Wichtowski (President of the Polish Motor Insurers’ Bureau), and was moderated by Prof. Adam Śliwiński of SGH. Panelists engaged in a lively discussion on how historical insights into insurance can help address today’s issues – from the impact of technological change to evolving customer expectations. The dialogue underscored that many current challenges in insurance (such as digital transformation or new risk exposures) have historical analogues, and learning from history can guide more informed decision-making. These keynote and panel sessions were highly relevant, setting the stage for deeper exploration in the conference’s thematic sessions.
Over two days, the conference program was packed with 31 presentations across thematic sessions, showcasing research from around the world. Several sessions illuminated the historical development of insurance in diverse contexts. For example, one session examined insurance in the 18th-century Atlantic world, including studies on how a Dutch insurer was linked to the slave trade and how enslaved people were insured in the 19th-century United States. Such historical case studies provided insight into the complex role of insurance in social and economic systems, even in morally challenging contexts like slavery. Another session focused on the evolution of mutual insurance and theoretical perspectives, discussing the long-term success of mutual assurance societies and even drawing connections to modern issues like climate change. This demonstrated how concepts of risk-sharing and mutual aid have persisted and adapted over centuries, remaining pertinent as we face global environmental risks.
Regional developments were also a prominent theme. Participants presented comparative research on insurance markets and regulation in Central and Eastern Europe, shedding light on how post-communist economies rebuilt their insurance sectors and how European integration influenced insurance regulation in countries like Ukraine. Similarly, a session on social security and pensions explored historical and political dimensions of risk protection, with case studies ranging from the decline of 19th-century pension funds in Mexico to the evolution of social security in Iran. These discussions highlighted the intersection of insurance with public policy and economic history, illustrating how cultural and political factors shape risk management institutions over time.
The conference’s scope extended to consumer and environmental aspects of insurance history as well. Speakers addressed topics such as historical approaches to consumer protection in insurance and how a “sense of security” influenced the growth of insurance markets. Research on the roots of environmental risk coverage – for instance, the historical progress of insurance in addressing sustainability and environmental hazards – showed the long-running engagement of the insurance industry with societal challenges.
Crucially, the event also tackled emerging risks and contemporary challenges through a historical lens. A dedicated session on “Insurance and Emerging Risks: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives” examined modern issues like international trade risks, cyber threats, and innovative weather-related risk transfer, framed by lessons from the past. Presentations discussed topics such as the history of government-backed catastrophe insurance programs and the development of alternative weather risk transfer tools. The inclusion of a paper on cyber risk (“What we do and don't know”) was especially notable, as it connected one of today’s most pressing new risk areas with themes of uncertainty and adaptation familiar from insurance history. By contextualizing today’s emerging risks in historical experience, these sessions provided attendees with a deeper understanding of how past innovations and failures can inform current risk management strategies.
A hallmark of this conference series is its interdisciplinary and international character, and the Warsaw edition was no exception. The event brought together a diverse group of academics and practitioners from around the world, including historians, economists, business scholars, legal researchers, sociologists, and insurance industry professionals. In total, 38 speakers from multiple continents presented to an audience of over 100 participants, fostering a rich global dialogue on risk and insurance. Attendees came from a variety of institutions and backgrounds, underscoring the conference’s goal of crossing traditional academic boundaries. This blend of perspectives sparked interdisciplinary discussions—such as economists engaging with historians on the interpretation of data, or industry executives responding to historical case studies—that enhanced the overall insight gained. The inclusive, international nature of the conference not only reflected the global scope of insurance history but also helped build a community bridging scholarly research and real-world practice.
Beyond the formal sessions, the conference offered valuable opportunities for networking and cultural exchange. On the evening of July 3, participants attended a gala dinner in the historic Main Reading Room of the SGH Library. Surrounded by the elegant ambience of one of Warsaw’s academic landmarks, guests enjoyed a relaxed dinner where they continued conversations sparked during the day. This social event provided a chance for speakers and attendees to connect informally, exchange ideas, and lay the groundwork for future collaborations in a convivial setting.
After two days of intensive presentations and dialogue, the conference concluded on July 4 with closing remarks and a memorable guided city tour of Warsaw. Participants explored Warsaw’s cultural and historical sights together, reflecting on how the city’s own history intertwines with themes of risk and resilience. This tour was a fitting finale, allowing visitors from abroad to appreciate the local context and giving everyone a moment to decompress and foster camaraderie after the scholarly proceedings.
In summary, the Third Global Conference on the History of Risk and Insurance in Warsaw achieved its goals of blending historical insight with contemporary relevance. It highlighted how understanding the past—from Renaissance merchants managing maritime perils to 20th-century policymakers designing social security—can inform current debates on emerging risks and insurance innovation. The event’s success, built on international participation and interdisciplinary approach, strengthened the bridge between academic research and industry practice. Researchers, practitioners, and the public alike gained a deeper appreciation of the insurance sector’s rich history and its vital role in shaping societies’ ability to face uncertainty. The conference organizers and sponsors can look back on the Warsaw meeting as a continuation of a valuable tradition, and a springboard for future conversations at the intersection of history, risk, and insurance.
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Financed by the Minister of Science and Higher Education under the "Regional Excellence Initiative" Programme