Tuesday Open Line


America’s first life insurance policy issued by a general insurance company was issued on this date in 1794 in Philadelphia. The Insurance Company of North America was organized two years earlier, capitalized at $600,000. But the life insurance venture proved short-lived, as only six policies were written in five years, and the service was dropped in 1804. The Insurance Company of North America still exists as a subsidiary of a multinational insurance group. Now, of course, life insurance is an enormous business worth about a half-trillion dollars annually, with some 275 million policies in force. There are more than 9,000 establishments in the U.S. employing 344,000 people to sell and administer life insurance policies. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.