The Portland daily press., 1877-03-30
The Cause Of Disaster TO Life Insurance
Companies.

luSuTduCo COupdLicS LAS dttIaCt0u 10 uLtIo
attention and cccasioned more or less distrust
in the public mind, SO that some persons who
do not take pains to examine into the cause of
these disasters have come to the conclusion that
all life companies are alike unsound. No mis-
take can be greater, inasmuch as there are
probably no financial institutions in the world
more safe against failure than well conducted
life insurance companies; and such. beyond
dispute are majority of the companies which
are now doing the larger part of the business
in this country. No such company has ever
yet failed, nor has the security of any such
ever been plausibly questioned.
Because a few mushroom companies
which {by reason of their bad plans and
the bad management of those officially
connected with them) have been COM
PEELED to wind up, it Is no argument
and does not Eprove that all are equally bad.
Some of these companies were differed by men
having more zeal for their own interest than a
knowledge of Life Insurance. Not appreciat-
ing the dangers that lie in the distance. nor the
disasters that follow mismanagement. they
have assumed that what had been done by
successful and we'll managed company, with a
company however defective it's system or badly
conducted; they made rush for business re-
gardless of expense, and with too little atten-
ton to the character of the risks, some of them
taken without proper medical examination, and
in some cases with 10 examination at all. 1t
made no difference whether the applicant was
in the army or navy, whether seaman or
landsman, an engineer or fireman, whether be
worked in a powder mill or was liable to die of
consumption CIR heart disease; business they
wanted. and business they must have. In
many cases INSCRIPTIONS agents were sent out
to scour the country as canvassers, deceiving
the people, consuming nearly all their receipts
in expenses. 1t was therefore no surprise to
those familiar with the subject that such COM
panies failed; the only wonder is that they had
not gone under before. Nearly all these COM
panies were put in operation since 1860, or dur.
ing the late war, and were got up chiefly by in
experienced men, with some new and untried
scheme designed to deceive the public and
''catch the fats" more than with view to
permanency or security.
The remarkable success of the old companies
| led these men to believe that they could run
such an institution just as well as anybody else,
| upon the 'high pressure system" however de-
| fective. Not SO with the old ana experienced
companies, not one of which has ever failed or
| will fail. In 1843 there was no purely life COM
| pany in this country. At that time the Old
| Mutual Life of New YORK went into operation
| soon after, in 1916, the New England of Boston,
| Mutual Benefit of New Jersey, State Mutual of
| Worcester and Nautilus (now the New York
| Life); in 1876 the Connecticut Mutual of Hart
ford; 1847 Pennsylvania Mutual of Philadel.
| phia; in 1849 Union Mutual of Augusta; in
| 1850 the Charter Oak and Etna of Hartford
l TTpifnd StQfas Manhattan and Gnrmania of
| New York, and National of Vermont; in 1851
| the Massachusetts Mutual, Berkshire, PheuIx
| of Hartford, and Equitable of New York; and
others, and in 1853 the North Western, all of
which are now in successful operation.
A few others which started since 1860 are
among the prosperous companies, viz: the John
Hancock, Travellers, Continental of Hartford
Brooklyn of New York, and few others. The
Anchor was got up to catch the sailors, and the
Asbury for the Methodists, the Hahneman fol
the Hom9opathists, the National for Jay Cooke
& Co., the Widows and Orpha ms, North Amer
lean, Continental, Security, Empire and New
Jersey Mutual, with some new and attractive
features held out as decoy calculated to de
| ceive, they soon accomplished their work, anG
"the mourners go bout the Streets.
Does any man of common sense suppose that
such is to be the result with such companies a.
the old Mutual Life, Connecticut Mutual, New
England, Mutual Benefit, Equitable. New Yorl
Life, Etna aud others named, and that they
too are going under because such mushrooms
as the Continental, Security and others have
foundered by the weight of their own folly an(
inquIty, they may as well suppose that thu
bottom will drop out of the hills; and will any
considerate man for this reason come to the
| conclusion that Life Insurance is all humbue
of no value and can as well be dispensed with:
| Would any sane business man reason thus
| with reference to Fire or Marine Insurance, ant
consequently go without, and advise his friend
| and customers to dispense with it? Would il
| no a mart of common SanSa to that haoo so
! banks and tire insurance companies and large
business houses sometimes fail, and that say
| ings banks have been compelled, by bad man
| agement and bad Investments, to wind up, tina
there is no safety in anything or that because
there is some counterfeit money in circulation
better to refuse to take any. Everybody know
that a savings bank or Ia life insuranc
company if honestly and properly managed
runs no risk of failure.
Life insurance is of as much importance, an
more so now, than ever before. Death cor
tnues its work and is doing its work more rap
idly than ever.
In the language of another, "Let some socis
economist figure out the benefits of life insu
ance as RELAXED to public and private affair
Considering that the life companies of tn
country paid to policy holders for death claim
tion of those deriving benefits would have bee
, objects of tpuplic and private charity but f(
| the supper secured through the payment {
these companies? The old Mutual Life Co
alone pays out from three to four millions al
| nually fOrdeath claims.
|, Who are the recipients of these millions
| Chiefly the widows and orphans of those wht
| realizing the fact that "foreseeing contingel
+ cies and providing for them is true econom
with prudent and affectionate forethought hay
made provision for their dependent ones
their hour of sorest need from the bitterness