Introduction.In contrast to the countries of developed legal orders of Western Europe and North America, the development of insurance in Russia began much later and was complicated by many obstacles. Nevertheless, each historical period brought something of its own tothe development of insurance, as a result of which insur-ance in Russia acquired its inherent features. Purpose.In this work, based on a study of historical normative documents and scientific literature, the goal is to determine the main features of the development of insurance in various periods of Russian history. Materials and methods.The work is based on the comparison and analysis of various sources relating to the economic, organizational and legal components of insurance as a comprehen-sive institution, as well as on the description of specific circumstances of the development of insurance in Russia. In this case, the comparative historical method plays a key role. Results, discussion.Only during the 20th centu-ry three periods were successively changed in the development of Russian insurance. Initially, as a result of revolutionary events, the consistent development of capitalist insurance was interrupted and replaced by centralized state insurance, which gave the world a unique experience of universal social and pension insurance. At the end of the century, in the process of a much more evolutionary change, the renovation of market mecha-nisms took place, which needed to combine the best practices from previous experience. Conclusion.Based on thestudy, it is concluded that insurance in Russia, having gone through three completely different stages of development, is currently experiencing another turning point in its history and is faced with challenges and problems that it has never known before. Nevertheless, having tremendous experience in both administrative-command and market regulation, as well as using the latest digital and remote development tools, the insurance industry has a lot of possibilities of gaining a new impetus for development.