Historically, economic risk was managed through informal agreements within a defined
community. If someone’s barn burned down and a herd of milking cows was destroyed, the
community would pitch in to rebuild the barn and to provide the farmer with enough cows to
replenish the milking stock. This cooperative (pooling) concept became formalized in the
insurance industry. Under a formal insurance arrangement, each insurance policy purchaser
(policyholder) still implicitly pools his risk with all other policyholders. However, it is no longer
necessary for any individual policyholder to know or have any direct connection with any other
policyholder.