What is the name of the world's first life insurance company, founded in 1706 in London?

The Amicable Society was the world’s first life insurance company, founded in London in 1706.

Its full name was the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office. Queen Anne granted the society a charter on July 25, 1706, creating an early mutual life-assurance organization. Historical accounts associate its founding with William Talbot, Bishop of Oxford, and financier Sir Thomas Allen; Aviva’s corporate history also highlights London bookseller John Hartley in the society’s origins.

Members paid annual contributions connected to one or more shares. After a member died, a portion of the common fund was distributed to the named beneficiaries, especially widows and children. The society began with about 2,000 members, but its early arrangement was not identical to modern level-premium life insurance: contributions and benefits followed the society’s rules and did not initially use fully developed actuarial pricing.

The answer is sometimes confused with Equitable Life, founded in 1762. Equitable was historically important because it used more scientifically calculated age-based premiums. The Amicable Society, however, has the earlier date and is widely recognized as the first modern life-insurance office or company.