We Solved Insurance in 1752 and Then Forgot

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin -- who, to be fair, was good at most things -- helped found the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. It was one of the first insurance companies in America, and it worked like this: homeowners in Philadelphia pooled their money. If someone's house burned down, the pool paid to rebuild it. The company was owned by its policyholders. There were no shareholders. There were no stock options. There was no quarterly earnings call where an executive explained why paying claims had hurt profitability. The Contributionship still exists. It has been in continuous operation for two hundred and seventy-four years. It still insures homes in Pennsylvania. It is still owned by its policyholders. And it is, by almost every measure, a better deal for consumers than the publicly traded insurance companies that now dominate the market. So here's my question: if we figured this out in 1752, why did we forget? How Mutuals Worked The mutual