Which company, founded in Philadelphia in 1752, is the oldest surviving property insurance company in the United States?

The Philadelphia Contributionship, founded in Philadelphia in 1752, is the oldest surviving property insurance company in the United States.

Benjamin Franklin helped establish the company with other Philadelphia citizens after fires demonstrated the need for organized protection against property loss. The company originally focused on fire insurance and used inspections to assess the safety of buildings before accepting them.

Its name reflects the contributory structure through which members paid into a shared fund. This was an important step in developing organized property insurance in colonial North America, where urban fires could destroy many buildings at once.

The company remains associated with historic Philadelphia and is sometimes confused with the first insurance company of any kind in the United States. Earlier marine-insurance arrangements existed, but the Philadelphia Contributionship is specifically notable for its continuing property-insurance history and its 1752 founding.