The Age of the Friendly Societies: Mutual Insurance in the Nineteenth Century

Marco H. D. Leeuwen
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Marco H. D. Leeuwen: Utrecht University

Chapter 3 in Mutual Insurance 1550-2015, 2016, pp 83-165 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The end of the guilds marked the beginning of mutual insurance on a voluntary basis through Friendly Societies. These grew enormously in scope of coverage, until, around 1900, the majority of the population were insured for the costs of burial. Almost all other forms of micro-insurance, too, increased in scope. The nineteenth century saw the rise of commercial insurers as well as insurance provided by doctors, factory funds, and local trade unions. Their terms and conditions are discussed, including those relating to classic insurance issues. We discuss the place of micro-insurance in the worlds of the artisan and the working classes, including issues of sociability, and the place of micro-insurance in the political climate of laissez-faire and social liberalism as well as socialism, and, finally, its place in the mixed economy of welfare.

Keywords: Nineteenth Century; Trade Union; Mutual Fund; Moral Hazard; Adverse Selection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:psitcp:978-1-137-53110-0_3

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DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-53110-0_3

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