History of insurance in the Ottoman Empire
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 06, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The history of insurance in the Ottoman Empire is on display for the first time in an exhibition featuring documents from the collection of David M Kohen, an insurance agent in the late 1800s. The exhibition can be seen at the Ottoman Bank Museum in Istanbul’s Karaköy
The history of insurance during the Ottoman Empire has been revealed for the first time in Turkey. Historic documents and policies on display show the world how citizens of varied backgrounds subscribed to a multitude of international insurance companies.
The Kohen family from Thessalonica started working in the field of insurance in the Ottoman Empire in 1906, during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II. Although the family started the business in Thessalonica, they moved to the Ottoman capital, Istanbul, sometime later. After Thessalonica and Istanbul, the Kohens went to Germany. They worked in the highest positions for the country’s largest insurance company Victoria from France to North Africa.
This sudden rise of the family in the field of insurance ended when Adolf Hitler came to power. Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review, David M. Kohen, 85, a third generation member of the family, said: "My family was fired from Victoria when Hitler’s pressure grew in the country. Sometime later, Victoria was closed. My grandfather stayed in France, while my father returned to Istanbul and continued selling insurance."
The Kohen family has decided to gather a collection of the history of insurance in the Ottoman. The collection has become wider as they added new pieces that shed light on the history of insurance in the Ottoman. Some pieces from the collection are on display at an exhibition titled "What Hurts the Purse, Hurts the Soul - Insurance in the Ottoman Empire with Documents from the Collection of David M. Kohen" at the Ottoman Bank Museum in Karaköy. Allianz Insurance Company sponsors the exhibition.
The exhibition, open through until March 14, displays 33 policies, 15 maps and 21 fire marks, which are metal signs bearing the name of an insurance company. These signs used to be hung on buildings insured by the company. A catalogue has also been published in Turkish and English simultaneously with the exhibition.
150 foreign insurance companies in the empire
Kohen said there were 80 to 150 foreign insurance companies originally from England, France, Italian and Germany within the borders of the empire until the declaration of the Republic. He said policies were sold in Anatolia via marketing people. "They were closed down one by one after the declaration of the Republic. Among these companies only Union, which is now Axa, and Ergo-Switzerland, the continuation of Victoria, and Italy-based Generali and Allianz still survive," he said.
Union shares were sold most in eastern Anatolia
Kohen said Greek, Armenian and Jewish citizens conducting trade in the Ottoman Empire were most interested in the concept of insurance. He said, "Many churches, monasteries, schools and business places from the east of Anatolia to Greek islands and Thrace were insured in this period. An Armenian family, claiming to hold one of these policies, filed a suit in California a few years ago. Union, known as Axa today, sold most of its policies in the East."
Just like the great fire that scorched London in the early 1600s, Istanbul suffered its own inferno in 1870. The fire started on Feridiye Avenue in Taksim and swept through Tarlabaşı and Galatasaray, burning 6,000 houses in only a few hours.
Kohen said there were Armenians and Greeks in that region. "After this fire, the Ottoman citizen Greeks and Armenians learned about insurance from their relatives living abroad, and insured their houses against fire."
Kohen said the exhibition was a first for Turkey. "Even the managers of insurance companies do not have information about the history of insurance in the Ottoman era. This exhibition is very important because it shows the development of insurance business in this land."
The Kohen family from Thessalonica started working in the field of insurance in the Ottoman Empire in 1906, during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II. Although the family started the business in Thessalonica, they moved to the Ottoman capital, Istanbul, sometime later. After Thessalonica and Istanbul, the Kohens went to Germany. They worked in the highest positions for the country’s largest insurance company Victoria from France to North Africa.
This sudden rise of the family in the field of insurance ended when Adolf Hitler came to power. Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review, David M. Kohen, 85, a third generation member of the family, said: "My family was fired from Victoria when Hitler’s pressure grew in the country. Sometime later, Victoria was closed. My grandfather stayed in France, while my father returned to Istanbul and continued selling insurance."
The Kohen family has decided to gather a collection of the history of insurance in the Ottoman. The collection has become wider as they added new pieces that shed light on the history of insurance in the Ottoman. Some pieces from the collection are on display at an exhibition titled "What Hurts the Purse, Hurts the Soul - Insurance in the Ottoman Empire with Documents from the Collection of David M. Kohen" at the Ottoman Bank Museum in Karaköy. Allianz Insurance Company sponsors the exhibition.
The exhibition, open through until March 14, displays 33 policies, 15 maps and 21 fire marks, which are metal signs bearing the name of an insurance company. These signs used to be hung on buildings insured by the company. A catalogue has also been published in Turkish and English simultaneously with the exhibition.
150 foreign insurance companies in the empire
Kohen said there were 80 to 150 foreign insurance companies originally from England, France, Italian and Germany within the borders of the empire until the declaration of the Republic. He said policies were sold in Anatolia via marketing people. "They were closed down one by one after the declaration of the Republic. Among these companies only Union, which is now Axa, and Ergo-Switzerland, the continuation of Victoria, and Italy-based Generali and Allianz still survive," he said.
Union shares were sold most in eastern Anatolia
Kohen said Greek, Armenian and Jewish citizens conducting trade in the Ottoman Empire were most interested in the concept of insurance. He said, "Many churches, monasteries, schools and business places from the east of Anatolia to Greek islands and Thrace were insured in this period. An Armenian family, claiming to hold one of these policies, filed a suit in California a few years ago. Union, known as Axa today, sold most of its policies in the East."
Just like the great fire that scorched London in the early 1600s, Istanbul suffered its own inferno in 1870. The fire started on Feridiye Avenue in Taksim and swept through Tarlabaşı and Galatasaray, burning 6,000 houses in only a few hours.
Kohen said there were Armenians and Greeks in that region. "After this fire, the Ottoman citizen Greeks and Armenians learned about insurance from their relatives living abroad, and insured their houses against fire."
Kohen said the exhibition was a first for Turkey. "Even the managers of insurance companies do not have information about the history of insurance in the Ottoman era. This exhibition is very important because it shows the development of insurance business in this land."