This is the first book to provide a comprehensive historical description of this industry. It traces the global development of reinsurance from the early 19th century until today. As such it gives a detailed account of how the nature of risk itself changed over the last 200 years. It highlights all aspects relevant in shaping the industry from the development of risk, risk engineering and risk management, actuarial science, the financial and monetary environment, market conditions, impacts of politics, the effects of regulatory changes, to large risks and natural catastrophes.

A comprehensive introduction by the editors highlights the different challenges and approaches to managing risk from a reinsurance perspective such as mathematical, financial, legal, and contractual developments, as well as the changing business models adopted. All of these are dealt with in further detail by ten contributing authors.