A Young Man's Benefit
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Sickness Insurance in the United States and Canada, 1860-1929
Description
Using cliometric methods and records from six grand-lodge archives, A Young Man's Benefit rejects the conventional wisdom about friendly societies and sickness insurance, arguing that IOOF lodges were financially sound institutions, were more efficient than commercial insurers, and met a market demand headed by young men who lacked alternatives to market insurance, not older men who had an above-average risk of sickness disability. Emery and Emery show that many young men joined the Odd Fellows for sickness insurance and quit the society once self-insurance - savings - or family insurance - secondary incomes from older children - made it feasible for them. The older men, who valued the social benefits of membership and did not need the sick benefit, gradually became a majority and dismantled the IOOF's insurance provisions.
Reviews
"a very significant contribution to the field ... This book presents a thorough and convincing analysis of the fate of sickness insurance in the largest fraternal organization in Canada and the U.S. " Leonard Moore, Department of History, McGill University. "an advance in the application of theory to history, a contribution to the area of health insurance, and a major addition to the literature on friendly societies." Frank Lewis, Department of Economics, Queen's University.