In 1898, there were 18 million horses compared to 4,000 cars in the U.S. And sooner or later someone was going to want to insure one.
Most often cited for the first auto insurance policy is Dr. Truman Martin of Buffalo, NY., who bought a policy from Traveler's Insurance Co. in February 1898. The doctor used his car to make house calls and worried about the liability should he have an accident.
But, according to the Traveler's 100-year anniversary press release issued in 1997, the first automobile policy was actually issued to Gilbert J. Loomis of Westfield, Mass. on a car Loomis built himself.
