In recent years insurance medicine has become a separate specialty, recognized by the American Medical Association and governed by a separate Board of Insurance Medicine, with strict requirements for Board certification. Medical Selection of Life Risks, originally published in 1978, has long been recognized as one of the principal textbooks of insurance medicine, and it is only natural that a new, revised edition is made available. R. D. C. Brackenridge, an internationally recognized authority in insurance medicine, has produced a unique textbook based not only on a thorough literature research, but also—most importantly—on his own vast experience.
Part 1 contains a comprehensive introduction to the concept and history of insurance as well as a fairly detailed outline of the organization and function of life insurance companies. Although mainly describing the British system, Brackenridge (who lives in London) makes frequent references to numerous differences characterizing the North American (US and Canadian)