New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1878-04-17
The Life Insurance Situation Of the
Past Year.
INeW York Mail. /


at length, the figures are at hand to show
what kind of record the American life in
svrance companies wrote for themselves last
yer. The enterprise of the Spectator COM
tany has put the public in possession Of the
returns of forty-two companies embracing
all that are of any account that are left of
the seventy odd once cavorting over the
field. The insurance department will come
struggling along during the spring and sum
mer with their elaborate volumes; but, mean
while, all that the public needs to know is
given in the Pocket Index now before us,
and which the policy holder can conveniently
carry in his pocket for ready reference.
The aggregates of the forty two com
panies, as to business done in 1877 and
financial condition at the close ofathe year,
are as given below. They will give the
reader more effective view of the3situation
if he can imagine the figures to be those of
single company, and thus enable himself to
strike an average which will be all the fairer
for life insurance itself, even if it may not
be entirely accurate as respects each COM
pany contributing to the consolidation:
Number Of companies. ...... AZ
Policies issued in 1877. d x 81 643
Amount insured in 1877. 02,65S;313
Premiums received in 1877 $3.50. 66195 $50
Interest received in 1877 ..5A. a ,071 ,O63
Total income in 1877. Observation-Disclosures &C, 239. 5O7
Losses, endOwmcnts and an nui- 4 @hSEB#
ties paid !. 1919 '..'"s W 2o:2so 5s3
Dividends to policy-holders. 15716134
Total payments to policy-holders 64,G15, 4O6
Taxes paid. ..................f. l,226, 452
Expenses Of management. 10 o3333. 1873
Whole number of policies i'll ysss
force. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 677,327
Whole amount insured ......... 81 ,63S, 1872
Average amount of each policy. 2,418
Capital stock paid in.......... GAG, 800
Reserve of ~ per cent. -. & E342,212, 1911
liabilities, excluding capital s. 351,291, 968
Gross assets January L. 1873. :. E4l4,163, $40
Expense ratio to total income. 1886 per cent.
| OF course some companies have done bet
ter than others. AS the statements have
appeared in our columns we have taken oc-
casion to note instances Of individual pro
gress and prosperity. We now have to do
with companies and their condition in the
aggregate; and, SO far as we can judge, the
servey offers ground for congratulatio1l that
so good an exhibit is possible. Against
$35O,O00,O00 of public liability the compa-
MES can show $414, 100000 of sound. avail
able assets. OF the 500, 100000 of stotal in
come, nearly SIS, O0O, 900 a. per cent: has
been appropriated to policy holders ID Zone
or another of the several forms Of claims.
endowments, annuities, dividends or surren-
der values. The diminished expense ratio
shows clearly that the economical reform
$50 loudly called for has really lbeen
begun. The number of pol
icies in force is a677,327, an
indication that very large and rather brave
army af believers has withstood the blast
which would have shaken them out of their
investment if their faith had been less
soldly founded. There has been falling
off of perhaps $4,000 orr 100000 in the
gross amount of insurance in force. But
what else. could have beensexpec and, for
/ that matter, why should life insurance as
sumo to be the only interest in finance or
business remaining unaf ected by the gen
eral depression? It would be miracle were
it otherwise than ias, I'll is, The wonder,
rather, is that life insurance has so nobly