BIOGRAPHY OF AN IDEA

A faithful, factual record of Mutual Fire and Casualty Insurance, here rather imposingly introduced as the ""victory of human thought over the rude violence of life"" and historically recorded, man by man and company by company. From its start-after the Great Fire of London, to its importation here by the practical Benjamin Franklin who was a great fire fighter, Mutual Fire Insurance got off to a start with the Philadelphia Contributionship. As the mutual idea filtered from community to community, and ultimately spread westward, Factory Mutuals were inaugurated, the Farm Mutuals, Mill Mutuals, Lumber Mutuals, with increasing coverage and increasing returns for all concerned. Casualty Insurance, which only originated in the 20th century, has had a phenomenal rise and success in this fifty years, and Bainbridge's biography will give you all the facts and figures of the companies involved, the types of policies written, etc. etc....No spontaneous combustion, but a background book for those concerned.