Insurance is said to be as old as commerce itself.

I don't know that this is the earliest form of insurance, but in Ancient Greece merchants would take out maritime loans at high interest rates. The high interest rates were justified because of the inherit risk of losing a cargo vessel in the Aegean. If a ship was lost, the loan was forgiven. The ship itself was considered collateral for the loan in case a merchant decided to renege on the agreement.

Sure, it is a stretch, but here we find businesses paying a "premium" on interest based on the "risk" of a loan.

Later, ancient Greek sailors had what were called “benevolent societies,” in which members would pay money, and when they died, the other members would take care of the living family members — and pay funeral expenses

I think there were earlier forms of insurance in China and Babylon, but I am not sure.