What is the name of the Philadelphia company founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 to insure buildings against fire?

Benjamin Franklin founded the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire in 1752.

Franklin and other Philadelphia leaders created the company after observing that rapidly growing towns faced severe fire risks. The organization used mutual insurance: policyholders contributed to a common fund that paid eligible claims, sharing losses among members.

The company inspected buildings before accepting them and could refuse properties considered unusually hazardous. This approach helped establish practices that remain familiar in property insurance, including risk assessment, underwriting standards, and differentiated treatment of safer and more dangerous buildings.

The Philadelphia Contributionship is often described as the oldest surviving property-insurance company in the United States. It should not be confused with the first fire-insurance offices in Britain, where organized fire insurance had already developed after the Great Fire of London in 1666.