The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1866-12-25
THE LIFE -1NsuRANcE BUSINESS

:
Seven years ago. at the Beginning of the year
1889. there were five Life Insurance. companies
in the Stateiof New Y s,rk-namely = The Mutual
Life-New York l. life. United States. Manhattan.
and Knickerbocker. These Companies bore date,
according t" their charters thus:
Mutual 1912; New York Life, 1915; United
States 1856; Manhattan, 1850; Knickerbocker.
1853.
We take no account in this enumeration of the
New York Life & Trust, chartered in 1880; be-
cause that company switched off into Trust bust
ness at an early date, and made no headway with
Life Insurance proper. Up t" 1e59-then. there
had been Is years Of active work in Lift, 1IIsu-
rance in New York. The aggregate cash inc"me
of the five local companies for the year ending
December 3fst,T 1885, had amounted to about
81, 6O001O. &tl no EHSNi54>7 "
In 1859 fresh impetus was given to Life In
surauct business in this State. Two new c"mpa-
MES were organized in that year-The Equitable
and the Guardian; and in the following year.
1860. three more were added. namely. the Ger
mania. Home. and Washington. Since that date,
thirteen more have been Incorporated making
the total number of Life Companies now estab-
lished in New York State. twenty two. r.- -
When the Equitable "rganizrd. the foan-
ders of the Company laid their plans on broad
foundatinn-th-y embraced leading men III the
principal departments of life all over the country.
and they advisedly and emphaticaIly. with wis
dom afnrethnught, called their association The
Equitable of the United States. -"' r. -stt
To the execution of their onerous task of build
ing up q Company worthy of their title, and COM
mensurate with their wide field of operation, they
brought a combination of high legal talent. line
executive ability and large technical experience
--all moved by a res"lute force OF will and 1xty
Of purpose that would never be content with sry-
thing short of supreme success. This guerdon
they have in large measure attained even with
In their first seven years :--n fact the Equitable
has been already, t" borrow an apt phrase from
the French acknowledgements by thepeo-
pie with complete success. s.t..-E, .s..+.
In making up IL summary of the business trans
acted by American Life Insurance Companies in
the year ending November ]. 1866, returned
to the Insurance Commissioner of Massachusetts,
We are struck with some prominent results pre-
scented by the Equitable that deserve special men,
ton. without designing to di>parage any OF its
more immediate contemporaries. ..r. Il Sat-
Bearing in mind that this company was the
sixth i'll point of date of organization in this State
sixteen years the junior Of the first company,
and six years the Junior Ct even the latest of its
five predecessors, it comes out i'll point of new
business done this year, next among the New
York Companies to the Mutual Life Insurance
Company whose new business during the same
term exceeds what has ever been done by any
other Company i'll single year. either here orin
Europe; and the fifth in rank of the forty -one
Companies in the United States, accounting to
the Massachusetts, Commissioner. 1t should be
noticed, that while four companies have surpassed
the Equitable in point of new business done, yet
that the ratio Of its cash expenditures for ex-
penses and l"ssrs to its cash receipts. is less than
in any of these four companies. t..... .t-.l.1-
A material point to be- remembered, too, in this
competitive contrast is this-that the Equitable
from the beginning has been an all cash company
taking notes for premiums and conducting
its business throughout, on strictly money basis.
The premium income of the Equitahle.fnr the year
ending Nov. l. 1866 amounted to $1.745.36O. SO,
ul,; o. ,,,;xi.: nm NJ
the aggregate amount of cash premium taken for
the same year by the four cnttmporaneouS com
pani-s formed in 1859 aud 1860. The amount of
new business done by the Equitable during the
year exceeds by about $4J0UOO the aggregate
new business of the four last mentioned Compa-
MES, whilst its total cash premium for the year
1866 exceeds the total cash premium income Of
the five senior COMPANIES at the time of the for
nation of the Equitable For one company to do
thus in seven years, what took five companies an
aggregated period of fifty five years to reach, ID
undoubtedly wonderful achievement.
Certainly it is to be remembered that all the
pioneer work done by the five preceding compa-
mics smno,hed the way materially for the course
of the Equitable and other modern companies.
Still the rank the Equitable takes in the face
of all the intense competition by older and
younger companies for the last three years es-
pecially, is unqueStionable evidence of grand
SUCCESS. The amount insured by the Equitable
in the year ending Nny. !, 1866. was $26 347.-
600 90. The plans Of Insurance aud dividend
system adopted by the company must be emf
nenty popular. and the agents and managers
must have been extraordinarily vigilant aud able.
To achieve such splendid results. 1t has been
proved that Life Insurance Companies experience
less mortality on the policy holders insusing for
amounts over $4,000. than on those under; the
reasons for this are "bviou>--the medium and
we'll to do classes, many of whom seek Life In
surauce Investment are better surrounded
with the means for the promotion Of longevity
than those who are sore taxed in securing the
cessities of life. The policies of the Equitable
averaging larger in amount than those of amy
other Company in the country, aud its losses hav-
ing been only half the percentage of many
older companies cpnclusively silaw that a larger
proportion of the afore- mentioned desirable
classes insures in the Equitable, than i'll any other
Company. Yet there seems n" abatemret of tho
energies displayed by the officers of the Equta-
ble They negltet no opportunity for advancing
the interests of their company. and it would be
difficult to set limit to the results they may at
tain. From the beginning this company has been
conducted in large liberal spirit-no small
titces or sharp practices have been resorted to
when losses or claims had to be met,--every one
was treated in a liberal generous spirit. that has
justly redounded to the benefit of the company.
enli>tins individual sympathy. and ensuring pub
lie confidence. The Equitable has been
a thoroughly national plan. 1t Is a "Broad
Guage" American Company along the whole
line.
In the history of the pepularizations aud de-
velopment of Life Insurance. in the United States.
the Equitable will be entitled to take high place,
whilst the officers and agents whose respective
energies. skill, and talent. have contributed t"
build up the Company to its fine position will be
held in high esteem by all the friends of Life In
surdnce H the country. .-r.s a.-
Hutcbi,on. Burroughs & Co, at Charlotte, are