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The American insurance industry had an early champion in Benjamin Franklin. Though best known as a colorful statesman, signer of the Declaration of Independence and inventor, he also was instrumental in establishing the country's first incorporated fire insurance company, The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, in 1752.
Franklin's interest in fire insurance was sparked by personal experience, and he once advised a friend that, in case of fire, “You may be forced [as I was] to leap out of windows and hazard your neck to avoid being over roasted.” Many insurance industry leaders of the past 80 years may have been less flamboyant than Franklin, but their contributions are just as significant. Here's a list of some of the most notable.
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