Which U.S. company, founded in 1792, was the nation’s first stock insurance company?

The Insurance Company of North America was the United States’ first stock insurance company, founded in Philadelphia in 1792.

Its creation reflected the growing need to insure ships, cargoes, and property in a rapidly expanding commercial nation. Unlike a mutual insurer, owned by its policyholders, a stock insurer is owned by shareholders who provide capital.

The company later became known as INA and expanded beyond marine coverage. In 1982, INA merged with Connecticut General to form CIGNA, a separate historical fact from the company’s original name and role.

The company is often confused with America’s first insurer of any kind. The Philadelphia Contributionship, founded in 1752 by Benjamin Franklin and others, predates INA but was organized as a mutual fire insurer rather than a stock company.