These friendly societies were growing in popularity and solving a real social problem, without intervention from government. Can you guess what happened next? The government stepped in and legislated for publicly provided welfare, and being a monopoly provider killed the friendly societies pretty quickly.
So, the government saw something good, wanted to extend it to everybody, did so and ... what? Outlawed friendly societies? Or were they just made obsolete? Could you not just start one with your neighbours and friends today?