Abstract

Insurance is a composite of law, economics, sociology, mathematics and so forth, which fact enormously swells the pertinent literature. In general, however, literature which specifically applies to insurance is divided first along product lines reflecting the "fields" of insurance, second, along lines of specialized topics and controversies and third, to a limited extent along theoretical lines. Selecting major works from these areas provides a general survey of the field as well as some insight into the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. The private insurance sector in the United States has been internally segmented along product lines by law and specialization, e.g., life insurers, fire-marine or property insurers and casualty insurers. Property and casualty insurance are often sold by one firm. In addition, there is the public ("social") insurance sector, which refers to government-provided insurances. This internal segmentation is reflected in the literature. A practical course for those interested in a general survey of any subject area is to study a good introductory college level text.