In 1752, a group of firefighters – which included Benjamin Franklin – founded the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Photo: Shutterstock.com
Editor's note: This column is part of PropertyCasualty360's Foundations of P&C Insurance series, which aims to bring new insurance professionals up to speed, while keeping industry veterans sharp. On Fridays, PC360 will offer up fresh content covering the nitty-gritty details of P&C insurance, tips for professional development, articles looking at the industry's more niche concepts, and the history of certain lines and programs.
|Where did insurance start in the United States?
In 1752, a group of firefighters — which included Benjamin Franklin — founded the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. They structured the company after the Amicable Contributorship of London, as a mutual insurance company in which policyholders would share risk.
|How the modern insurance framework came to be
In 1799, the first U.S. law considering insurance regulation was passed in Massachusetts, which introduced the concept of state supervision of insurance business.
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Brittney Meredith-Miller
Brittney Meredith-Miller is assistant editor of PropertyCasualty360.com. She can be reached at [email protected].
