Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1871-01-28

In comparison with these our ratio Is
surely not immoderatc.
The next point You ma kc Is by cOInbin-
ing into one sum the balances due frOIn
agents and the "premiuIns IN transit"
making siJO,Gi2, which, you sny, "nmounts
to more than ~ per cent oi the entire re-
nortcd premiums of the last six months. >
Yes and IL ihe report had been a quarter
Is instead ora spni-nnnunl one, this item
would have doubtless amounted To much
more than one hundred per cent oi the
"cntirc pcrmium>" of that quarter; ana II
| II had been n monthly statement, II would
have been probably some five hundred per
cent of thccntirc premiums for that month
II Is clear from this, We think, that the
comparison you here make Is iis much at
fault as that between expenditures ana
! income. The company II evidently at n
annual, as compared with AN annual
| StutcHrnt. Nour reference tn $1,000 un-
settled losses Is 10 DE met by some
/ what similar considerations. There APP
pears to be no reason to expect the exhibit
of n larger absolute amount of unsettled
because not mntured, claims In the annual
statement next January.
| Hut you continue: This item OF prcmi-
umS ia She hands Of agen,s make up more
! thnn one-fourth of tho total assets as rc-
ported" We do not think this an alarm
Ing mrt, for the ratio of premiums IN hands
OF agents 10 total assets might he much
larger without indicating any unsound-
ness in the affairs OF n company. IL the
ratio oi iIcrcdSe ~ business In "A UUung COM
I lectvd aud uurVportrd prclltums must nee
eSsirily la large. To prove the truth oi
/ tins general statement, Ne shall compare
with our own he status OF the few com
pnnics which reasonably meet the conSi-
| tiuuS of youth ana n rapidly UugmcntinH
business. Youth alone VIII not do, for the
influence OF the SlOO.WH ar more oi capital
stock would make the comparison errOne-
GUS.
Before, however, proceedingto this com'
paratiNe statement, We remark That tier,
IL
| us to their interpretation Of the meaning
al the phrase "dCierrcd premiums" There
appears to be no settled usage ~ To what
items should go into premiums in hands
miums." THIS company interpieis he lat
/ ter Ia bH only Those balances OF prcmi-
ulns for the current year ot policies upon
which at least one-quarter Of the current
= annual premiums hats been paid ON the
other hand the North America, for instance
In the New York report tor l@,S, expressly y
nnd candidly states that II Includes IN tins
item "uncollrctrd annual premiums ana
,Rrd inStalmcntS OF partial payments. =
] Again, We think the existence Of this Il +
tervnc" of Interpretation Il clearly cNhib-
tied ON comparing the statements In this
connection ~ the Mutual Protection and
/ New York state Life ttor lSiSl. These COM
panie> had each done about The Same
Nmouu ut business the accum ulatiOns OF
the fulmrr over capital being siA.5ll, and
Ot the latter, j,76S; but the ioIln"r had
done his business IN part OF ON" year
whilst The other had been two ana hhll
wears Ia existence, aud, I'll 'reiore, ought "a
have, one would think. al lcnst rs large n
deferred premium list ns the Mutual Pro-
trction, ana certainly asmaller amount IN
the "hands Ot agents. liut me NtW YORK
state Life reInrts ~ iO1 In llnnds ol Agrnis
aud uncollcclcd, and only s2,~h deferred
Tor the year; whilst the Mutual Protection
reports S2i.iM with agents, ana s.h,dli de-
tvTrrd! From these observations II u plain
that there are different views ~ iu what
are deferred premiums Tor the year ANA
what "pumiulnS IN lHud> ut agents, Hnd
consequently. thai no LtiI comparison can