Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office is considered the first life insurance company in the world.
History
Amicable Society was founded in London in 1706 by William Talbot and Sir Thomas Allen, 2nd Baronet. The first plan of life insurance was that each member paid a fixed annual payment per share on from one to three shares with consideration to age of the members being twelve to fifty-five. At the end of the year a portion of the "amicable contribution" was divided among the wives and children of deceased members and it was in proportion to the amount of shares the heirs owned. Amicable Society started with 2000 members. A modification from Amicable's life insurance was developed by "The Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorships." This new life insurance society was developed by Halley, De Moivre, Simpson, De Parcieux, and Dodson. The reason for the new society was because Dodson, who was over 45, wanted to have his life insured but was turned down by the Amicable Society, so formed a new society. In 1757 a petition for a charter of incorporation was submitted. It was worked on for four years, but ultimately turned down in 1761. In 1762 a modification of the original terms was finally agreed upon and the society started a business of life insurance. The society was referred to as the "Equitable" and it issued policies for life insurance of fixed sums on single or joint lives, or on survivorships, and for any term. Equitable's life insurance was different than Amicable's in that the premiums were regulated according to age. Anybody could be insured and were admitted regardless of their state of health and other circumstances. The initial scheme of Equitable had many imperfections, but through time developed into life insurance as we know it today. Due to Equitable's new type of insurance, Amicable changed its policies in 1807. It then had various premium fees to be paid on policies obtainable according to age, occupation, and health. In 1866 the Amicable Society was acquired by the Norwich Union Life Insurance Society.
Motto
The motto of the Amicable Society was prudens simplicitas. The choice of creatures above their coat of Arms may refer to Jesus' saying, be wise as serpents, gentle as doves.
