Which organization, founded in 1706, is widely regarded as the first life insurance company?

The Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office, founded in 1706, is widely regarded as the first life insurance company.

It was established in London by John Hartley, John Brontn, and other associates. The society offered life assurance through a mutual structure: members contributed payments to a common fund, which supported benefits for the families of members who died. This approach differed from earlier individual life policies and helped make life assurance an organized, continuing business.

The society initially limited the number and age of people it would insure and operated under rules approved by Parliament. Its system was still relatively simple and did not use the sophisticated actuarial calculations that later became central to life insurance.

The company’s name included “perpetual assurance,” but it was not an unlimited guarantee of payment under every circumstance. Its significance lies in its institutional form and continuity. Later companies expanded life insurance with mortality tables, age-based premiums, and more varied policy terms.