Editing Knights of Columbus (section)

===Early years===
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|-
!style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| Year
!style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| Insurance in force
!style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| Assets
|-
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 1957{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=388}}
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| $690 million
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| $124 million
|-
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 1956<ref name="eunice" />{{efn|The $88{{nbsp}}million increase during 1956 was the greatest single increase in the Order's history.<ref name="eunice" />}}
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| $650{{nbsp}}million
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 
|-
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 1955<ref name="eunice" />
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| $562{{nbsp}}million
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 
|-
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 1953{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=388}}
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| $420 million
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 
|-
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 1932<ref name="tampa" />
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| $300{{nbsp}}million
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 
|-
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"|1919<ref name="Siedenburg" />
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"|$140{{nbsp}}million
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"|
|-
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 1897<ref name="globe1897" />
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| $42,282
|-
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 1896{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=126}}
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| 
|style="background:#efefef; font-size:smaller"| $12,000
|}
The original insurance system devised by McGivney gave a deceased Knight's widow a $1,000 death benefit. Each member was assessed $1 upon a death, and when the number of Knights grew beyond 1,000, the assessment decreased according to the rate of increase.{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=22}} Each member, regardless of age, was assessed equally. As a result, younger, healthier members could expect to pay more over the course of their lifetimes than those men who joined when they were older.{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|pp=36–37}} There was also a Sick Benefit Deposit for members who fell ill and could not work. Each sick Knight was entitled to draw up to $5 a week for 13 weeks (roughly equivalent to $155 in 2022 dollars). If he remained sick after that, the council to which he belonged determined the sum of money given to him.{{sfn|Brinkley|Fenster|2006|p=123}}

The need for a reserve fund for times of epidemic was seen from the earliest days, but it was rejected several times before finally being established in 1892.{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|pp=63, 66, 75–76, 78}} It had $12,000 in assets in 1896.{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=126}}  By 1897, the method of funding the program changed.  Each member was assessed five cents a month for 100 months, so that he would contribute $5.<ref name="globe1897" />

Since its first loan to St. Rose Church in [[Meriden, Connecticut]], in the late 1890s, the Knights of Columbus have made loans to parishes, dioceses, and other Catholic institutions.{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=378}}  By 1954, over $300&nbsp;million had been loaned and the program "never lost one cent of principal or interest."{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=378}}

In the post–[[World War II]] era, the interest rates on long-term bonds dipped below levels at which the order's insurance program could sustain itself, and Supreme Knight Hart moved the order into a more aggressive program of investing in real estate.{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=377}} Under his leadership, the order established a lease-back investment program in which the order would buy a piece of property and then lease it back to the original owner "upon terms generally that would bring to our Order a net rental equal to the normal mortgage interest rate."{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=377}} Between 1952 and 1962, 18 pieces of land were purchased for a total of $29{{nbsp}}million.{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=378}} Late in 1953 the order purchased the land beneath [[Yankee Stadium]] for $2.5{{nbsp}}million.{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=378}}<ref name="Yankees" /> In 1971, the [[New York City|City of New York]] took the land by [[eminent domain]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2001}}

Between 1952 and 1962, 18 pieces of land were purchased as part of the lease-back program for a total of $29&nbsp;million. During this time, the amount of money invested in common stock also increased.{{sfn|Kauffman|1982|p=378}}