Ahead of Its Time: The Origins of Insurance Education at SGH

Journal article in Journal of Management and Financial Sciences

One of the most interesting findings is the pioneering character of insurance education at SGH. In 1916, the Higher School of Commerce in Warsaw – the predecessor of today’s SGH – decided to establish a dedicated insurance programme, which became operational in the academic year 1917/1918. It was the first separate, full university-level programme in insurance studies in Poland.

The programme was remarkably comprehensive for its time. It combined business and social insurance and integrated economics, mathematics, statistics and insurance theory. Its development was also closely connected with the insurance industry, with practitioners contributing directly to teaching. Notably, women were able to participate in insurance education on equal terms with men from the outset.

Our analysis suggests that the significance of this development extended beyond Poland. Before 1939, no other academic centre in Central and Eastern Europe had developed an insurance programme of comparable comprehensiveness.

By comparing the SGH experience with developments in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, the article shows that insurance education in Warsaw formed part of the emerging international academic field while developing its own distinctive and, in several respects, pioneering model.

The history also reveals a remarkable continuity. The close relationship between academic research, professional practice and insurance education that characterised the programme more than a century ago remains an important part of insurance education at SGH today.

Abstract

This article examines the origins and development of insurance education at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) between 1906 and 1939. Against the backdrop of the rising importance of insurance in Europe, SGH established the first comprehensive academic programme in Poland dedicated to both business and social insurance. The study addresses three main questions: what historical, economic and social conditions influenced the establishment of this programme; how the SGH model compares with early initiatives in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as with attempts in Central and Eastern Europe; and what its achievements meant for insurance science and practice.

The article demonstrates that SGH’s pioneering curriculum – interdisciplinary, closely linked to market practice, and open to women – was unique in the region. Although interrupted by the Second World War, its intellectual and institutional legacy shaped later developments in Polish insurance education.

Credits

Authors	Adam Śliwiński, Łukasz Kuryłowicz
Date	2026
Pages	61-80
Type	Journal article
ISSN	1899-8968
DOI	10.33119/JMFS.2026.60.4
How to cite	Sliwinski A., Kurylowicz L. (2026). Ahead of Its Time. The Emergence of Insurance Education at the Warsaw School of Economics (1906–1939). Journal of Management and Financial Sciences, vol.19(60), pp. 61-80.

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