WASHINGTON, May 21, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
LIFE INSURANCE
Profile America — Saturday, May 21st. Many things we take for granted in current society actually had their beginnings in Colonial America. And many beginnings in Colonial America took place in Philadelphia. The first known life insurance company was called the "Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers," chartered this month in 1759. Given the year and location, it should not be surprising that Benjamin Franklin was something of an inspiration, having helped launch the colonies' first chartered fire insurance company in 1752, also in Philadelphia. Now, there are over 132,000 insurance agencies and brokerages in the U.S., with over 655,000 agents and workers. The insurance industry is a $107 billion a year sector of the economy. Profile America is beginning its 20th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sources:
Date/accessed 2/22/2016: http://www.phcmontreat.org/ThisDayInHistoryIndex-May.htm
Organizing & Chartering/accessed 2/22/2016: http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid3101presbyministers.pdf
Benjamin Franklin: Kane's Famous First Facts, 4530
Insurance agencies, employees and value of receipts/NAICS 524210:
http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=BP_2013_00A1&prodType=table
Insurance revenues/NAICS 524210:
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/00A1//naics~524210
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu).
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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
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