The aim of this paper work is firstly to show the historical development of insurance, from the definition of the term „Insurance“ to contracting and its participants, and secondly to point out the characteristics and principles of insurance that are specific to this type of business. As society evolved, so did the need for insurance. Its beggining dates back to the distant past, in 3,000 BC in China where navigation was dangerous. The Middle Ages is considered the period of emergence of maritime insurance. Traders and craftsmen were encouraged to join guilds in order to alleviate the effects of excise duties. With the discovery of a new continent and the development of trade and the relocation of goods from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean, new world trade centers are formed and the merging of individual insurers such as Lloyd's Underwriters Association takes place. The development of life insurance is linked to seafarers who have sign a life insurance contracts in the event of being captured. In the nineteenth century there is a rapid development of insurance and insurance premiums are beginning to be automatically calculated. The historical events and needs of society have brought insurance to the level that is known today. Insurance has a tendency to develop and perfect in the future depending on human needs and the development of society and its norms. Many insurance and reinsurance companies are present on the market in Croatia. One of the most prominent ones is Croatia Insurance (Croatia osiguranje), which according to its business has a large share on the insurance market. Finally, it talks about women in the insurance world and their representation in insurance, that is, their non-representation, and we come across the term „glass ceiling“.