The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1873-02-22
LIFE Insurance.

LIFE I0SUBANCE.
Elisur Wright's New Plss-The sa.
wings Bank System-Mr. Wrisns
OId BSunder-~LOadtsg rrsmt-
ums"-i'heasisE the People to BEN
ent AgSnGs-A1 InteretttDg SNOW
ing By Nh Experienced Actusry.
To the Editor of the Courant:
At you Invitation the secretary OF the
Charter Oak Lite Insurance Company
in your issue of December IA. produces
an argument 10 favor OF the lately pro
posed reduction OF rates BY the Mutual
Lie Insurance Company OF New 7 ork,
in the coureeof whichhe alludes to me
in the following language: Mr.:
Wrights position towards the Mutual
Life il very astonishing. when it is well
known that for soma time past he has
persistautly urged . plan OF Insurance
upon the companies, which on large
classes Of policies docs not provide tor
anything like the amount Of expenses
which is furnished BY the new rates Of
the Mutual Lie He now objects to q
loading on endowment insurances,
considerably more than mis- own plans
contem plate, a. being unsafe. L It ia
70. what sort of an adviser is Mr..
Wright to be considered whom he urges
his own plans with so very little mar
gin for expenses that only one company
has as vet been induced to use them z
He also says Of me in connection
with two other persons, that record In
favor of that which now condemn,
1t is not that 1 differ with him in re-
gard to the reduction Of rates. or to
defend myself against what l deem to
be a personal injustice, but to explain a
matter iu which the public has deep
interest that has thus lar been lett out
of sight in this discussion, that ask
space in your columns to reply to thls.
Mr. White cannot possibly be 80 Sc
we're on me in regard to my past short.
comiugs 40 | am on mysel;. But l
prefer to tell the story Of my own guilt.
and confess my real crime. 1t will then
be seen that l am quite innocent OF
evor advocating such q reduction as
the Mutual Lie proposed
Though the premiums charged by
the Mutual Lite Insurance company
have never, 10 my opinion, been, on the
whole, too hight, it is quite undeniable
that some OF them are unnecessarily
high in relation to others. In truth
there was committed, long before | was
born, and before lite insurance was
born in America, q blundrr in what is
called loading the premiums, which
OF course extended to agents commits
sions and the assessment OF expense
among the members This wss adopt.
I'd unwittingly in this country, with
most OF the other rules and practices OF
the business 1t did not become very
apparent or troublesome till We had
gone largely into the practice Of issuing
endowment policies. Then, when it
was attempted to distribute surplus,
either on the per centage or "contribu-
ton" plan, the most astounding and
unsatis ctory results developed them
selves. l, Tor one, discovered that some
thing had got wrong end foremost, but
I was unable to see what, or how to
see it right. I carefully explored the
literature of the British institue OF
sctusries, but got no help from that
Hints of the trouble were given in the
ninth report OF the Massachusetts, in
sursnce commissioners in 1864 (see re.
port with appendix, 1865, pages 274
and 1861. By about 1869, when the
bluuder was cheating people out of mil
lions, for nobody's benefit but the
agents, all at OIL ce the right way OF
assessing expenses. compensating the
agents, and keeping the accounts OF .
lie insurance company dswned upon
me. Not have discovered this before
was intensely and almost iutolersbly
mortitying. For nobody mors heartily
than | had recommended endowment
insurance policies Tens OF thousands
had taken them, and on the short terms
been as good - cheated, every mothers 8
son OF them. And I had ignorantly
sco ouiesced in the stupid and stupendous
blunder BY which this was brought
about I could have torn the hair off
from the top OF my head if there had
been any there. and it would have done
auy good And yet was as sure ss
ever thst endowment policies were the
right ones to take, if they could Be dealt
by sqxitaby az to the erpense,
Nobody would have been gladder
than ! to have had my discovery prov
ed q mistake. And will pay hand
some reward to any ore who will do it
now. Isaw then. and see now, that
the companies that have trusted me a.
their adviser are in danger o. coming to
prief not by want OF funds but BY want
Of equity within themselves. 90 this
account l called together my brother
actuaries in 1870. at the Mutual Lite
office in New York, in presence OF Mr..
Winston, and some OF his directors,
and had the method Of loading prem
iums and assessing commissioner, and
expense discussed. think it was un-
animously agreed BY the actusries pres-
ept that the old procedure was wrong,
and the ouly QUESTION was how, with
ou. alternating the agents, who are in
terested in the present exorbitaut COM
missions on endowment policies, the
base could be changed from premium
to Insurance value" 1t vas conclud-
ed that the thing was only possible by q
concert OF action Of the lesdng COM
panies, and understood Mr.. Winston
to promise that be would endesver 10
have . convention Of the executive
off GERS OF such companies assembled
tor that purpose. They never sssemb.
led
Ihsys urged the calling Of such q
vention. upon eeversl companies,
With sll my might. For | ielt that
such q blunder, affecting one Of the
grandest institutions OF modern ciyiljzs