Mutual Assurance Society Records

The "Mutual Assurance Society, against Fire on Buildings, of the State of Virginia" was incorporated by the General Assembly on December 22, 1794. The plan of the society was suggested by William Frederick Ast, a Prussian then residing in Richmond, and is alleged to have been modeled after a system of mutual guarantee introduced by Frederick the Great.

Insurance offered by the society was against "all losses and damages occasioned accidentally by fire." Rates of hazard were determined by the material composition of the buildings, by the uses to which the buildings were put, and by what may be kept in them. Mills, playhouses, liveries, and buildings containing machinery propelled by steam or in which combustible articles were stored could be insured only by special contract. Revaluations of insured property were required every seven years or whenever additions were made to a policy.

These records serve a variety of research purposes and are often useful to those interested in family history, local history, architectural history, and business history. Declarations show ownership or occupancy in a particular place. Building diagrams shed light on the policyholder’s neighborhood, economic status,
and circumstances, along with the list of insured structures and the information about their composition and size.

Learn more about these records with the following guides.