- REDIRECT
A
benefit society,
fraternal benefit society or
fraternal benefit order is a
society, an
organization or a
voluntary association formed to provide
mutual aid, benefit, for instance
insurance for relief from sundry difficulties. Such organizations may be formally organized with charters and established customs, or may arise
ad hoc to meet unique needs of a particular time and place. Many major financial institutions existing today, particularly some insurance companies,
mutual savings banks, and
credit unions, trace their origins back to benefit societies, as can many modern fraternal organizations and
fraternal orders which are now viewed as being primarily social; the modern legal system essentially requires all such organizations of appreciable size to
incorporate as one of these forms or another to continue to exist on an ongoing basis.
