The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-05-27
Some Facts In Life Insurance.

In 1912 the first conpahy was oiga>
nized in America; in 1851 there were
sixty Thousand policies in force, assuring
one hundred and seventy million of
dollars, The ten years following 1881
years characterized by a pletl' Ora of
paper money, the rise Of rapid and stu.
peEdous fortunes, lavish outlay, and the
prevalence of speculation-werer remark
able for the steady and large increase of
the business. By the end Of 1871 there
were in force over eight hundred thou
sand policies, guaranteeing more than
two hundred thousand millions OF dol
lars! In 1871 alone there were Issued
by authorized companies of New YORK
nearly two hundred and ten thousand
policies. In 1851 the total income of
the companies was less than seven mill
lions, and their total assets under thirty
millions in 1871 the income must have
been ona hundred aud twenty-five mill
lions, and the assets considerably above
three hundred millions. Nothing more
striking than these figures can he ad-
duced to show the favor life insurance
has met with, the great poYss. it has Sc
cured to itself, and tie trust that has
been placed in its management. But
there Is another side to the picture,
wt.lcn is not so fattering.
When policy is issued, the contem-
plated method Of its termination is the
death of the holder or the expiration OF
the tern for which he was assured.
Under the heads of "death" and "expi-
ry| ought to be found, therefore,
all or nearly all the policies termi-
mated in any given year. How nearly
the facts correspond with the reasona.
bic expectation may be learned from
the annual reports of the New York In.
sirance Department These reports
deal merely with the companies author.
ICED to do business in this State, but
they cover, nevertheless, large proper
ton of the business of the country
From them it appears that in 1864 (the
first year tor which returns were proper.
ly classified, } Of the policies terminated
Excluding those changed" and moi
taken,) but fifteen per cent. ceased
through "death'' and "eXpiry," and
that even this small per centage had
shrunk in 1871 to less than seven and 6
half! The decrease in the number ter.
minated in the natural and proper meth
ods has been accompanied by an in
crease of those ended in modes which
are O reproach to the business. The
modes here referred to are surrender
and "lapse." It must be understood
that in surrender the policy is delivered
up to the company for q small conside
ration, and is cancelled !; and that ir
lapse the company confiscates to itsel
ali, be it much or little, which the un.
fortunate holder has paid upon it. With
this understanding, the significance o.
the following facts will be apparent
The figures are taken, as before, from
the New York reports, and policie!
"changed" and mot taken" are no
considered. In 1854 twelve per cent. o
terminated policies were surrendered
/ and sayenty-three per cent. lapsed-ant
lapse and surrender swallowed III
eighty-five per cent. of the whole; IL
1871 twenty-one and third per cent
were surrendered, and seventy-one ant
Ia third per cent. lapsed-and lapse ant
lsurrender took the lions share Of near
Ily ninety.thIee per cent. Verify ''some
thing is rotten in the State of Den
mark. In view of the average expe
rience of the last eight years, it may b
said that of every ten policies whicl
cease, but one will do so by death an,
expiry, while one and half will b
given up for slight compensation, AM
seven and half be absolutely throw
away by the holders. The number Q
policies which fail Of their proper US
would, perhaps, surprise the genera
reader more even than the statement Q
percentages. In 1871 the number G
policies really terminated in companie
of New York was 124,275; of thes
9, ,O6S were by death and expiry; 145, 81
Ilapsed and were surrendered, Of whicl
'SS,70S were by lapse alone.-Galary.