The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1878-08-22
A Strong Company.

Perhaps there is not in the world CITY
where more people invest in mines, real es.
tate and life insurance for its size than San
Francisco. certain old gambler in whose
ears the cry king wins; queen loses. Last
turn, gentlemen" was still ringing, being
once asked to insure his life, replied "I'll be
doggoned If l ever play in game where
have to die to win" They say that Califor
mans are all, more or less, gamblers. Yet it
is safe to assert that forty-nne out of every
fifty of our better class of citizens are insured
in some one or other of our numerous life
insurance companies.
AS II type of the better class of mutual life
insurance companies doing business in our
city, the writer has taken for his model, not
the foot of Hercules, but the head of Hercules
the Mutual Life Insurance Company of
New York, the Oldest and most respectable
company of them ALL The Mutual Life In
menced business in our State in 1856. Up to
| 1874 everything went pleasantly. The COM
pany never disputed claim that was shown
to be just and right. The rule was, and is,
to give the benefit of any doubt which might
| exist to the claimant, even in cases which
might be successfully resisted, and the result
| Of this liberal and equitable method of doing
business was to make it the most popular
of all the life insurance companies on this
coast.
In 1874, with the mistaken idea that some
legislation was needed in the interest Of pros
pective policyholders and ignoring the in
terests of some $4,000 existing policies in the
State, the Legislature Of the State of Califor-
| MIA passed the act which it was utterly i'm
| possible for the Mutual Life to comply with
| without a violation OF the original charter,
which would have worked to the injury of its
| hosts Of policyhoders here and in other
States Of the Union. The principal clause
| objected to was one making the General
Agent directly responsible for all the acts of
his subordinates, without allowing him to
ha ttatr 1,,tt at
the passage of this act was that all the large
Eastern companies left Our State. The Mu-
| tual Life, however, in order to guard the in
teress Of its policyholders in California re-
tanned the office in this city, and although
unable to comply with the law without in
| justice to itself, and consequently unable to
obtain new business through the exertions
of A. b. Forbes, General Manager of the Pa.
citic coast and his assistants, no loss what |
ever occurred to the polcyholders from the
action OF the company. Like many other
laws passed by the California Legislature,
this insurance law OF 1874 was found to do
more injury than good, and the last Legisla-
ture mod hed it to such an extent that the |
Mutual Life Insurance Company Of New York |
can, under its charter, comply with 1t, and it |
has once more resumed business. 1t is the
first company to return under the new act, |
and no doubt the other Eastern companies |
will follow. During the four years that Mr.. |
Forbes has conducted the business for the |
benefit Of the policyholders all claims for
death and for matured endowments have !
been paid; orders for cash values and paid |
up policies attended to and all the business |
pertaining to such matters was regularly car !
ried on free OF cost to the claimants. During |
the four years OF the legal prohibition the |
company has paid through its agents for |
death claims on the Pacific coast over
ONE MILLION DOLLARS,
besides paying for matured and discounted |
endowments ever $4,000. Policies were
not allowed to lapse through any want Of
agency facilities, and yet the company was
debarred from receiving one cent in new |
business. Some OF the smaller companies |
complied with the law, but inserted in their |
policies clause which literally amounted to |
beating certain old gentleman around the |
bush. Since the year 1S49 the company has |
paid on the Pacific coast, and chiefly in the |
State o California, go claims, amounting to |
- $4,000 in all, clear proof that the modif- |
cation OF the laws, which allowed it TO do |
business among us once more, was wise |
and just one. The list Of members OF the |
company living on the Pacific coast who have
died. and the claims upon whose policies |
have been paid, shows that they assured pay |
10 the company for the past four years pre-
miums, amounting to 1862, 74l.36 and that
the company paid back to the heirs $40, 5OO69 |
in dividends alone, making the actual cost of
insurance, ST. 1874 s2470, only 1886, 24S67 The
policies with premiums paid range, on the /
Pacific coast, from 81 900 up to $4,000, which |
is the limit OF the company.
THE RISE OF MUTUAL INSURANCE IN AMERICA
May be dated from February, 1912. The Eng.
fish life Insurance companies were, then
transacting II large and profitable business in
New York. The premiums they charged
were higher than those charged by the same
companies in England. In word the Eng
lsh companies thought that the risk was ad.
ditional when taken in the United States, and
the rates were so exorbitant that not only
were their own p0icyholders complaining,
but their business was necessarily restricted.
A few gentlemen met together somewhere In
February OF that year, and determined To or
ganze American life insurance on the basis
OF purely mutual company the purpose
being that the company should be conducted
solely in the interests of It's pollcyholders.
to whom in their collective capacity should
belong all their assets, all the profits TO be
divided among them, and no stockholders be
allowed to control the company or TO take
any portion OF its surplus. They had no
money, and it can now be said with pride this
company, organized without capital, has now
a capital over sl0000OO0 greater than that OF
the Bank OF England, and is an institution
with the largest cash assets OF any In the
world. The Bank of England has "A capital
Of t73, 10000, estimating one pound sterling
as S. OF our money, while the capital OF the
Mutual Life with its humble beginning, IL
now $S5,0Oo,000. In comparing this Ameri.
can company with the British life insurance
companies, we find that the Oldest and largest
of the latter, which has been in existence for
lib years, has only capital Of t23,000O00.
against the tS5,OO0,O00 OF the Mutual Life In.
surance Company OF New York
The great success OF the company Is owing
to the fact that it's President, Frederick &
Winston and It's Vice. President Richard A