A closer look
Travelers Insurance Company issued the world first automobile insurance policy in eighteen ninety-seven to a man named Truman Martin purely because he was absolutely terrified of his car being violently destroyed by angry horses. During the transitionary period when primitive automobiles shared the muddy roads with easily spooked horse-drawn carriages, equestrian-related collisions were considered the primary threat to any proud owner of a motorized vehicle. It perfectly highlights the absurd friction of technological progress, where the biggest danger to an innovative machine was just a massive, panicked farm animal kicking the absolute headlights out of it in a fit of primitive rage. Martin paid just twelve dollars for a liability policy to protect his expensive new toy from the chaotic reality of a society aggressively transitioning between centuries. Today, we pay astronomical monthly premiums just to protect our bumpers from distracted teenagers texting at red lights, which somehow feels far less dramatic
