The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1879-12-18
Preserving as well as Insuring Lives.

Il tnOA NAh6 20 WIZ - 1AfNFs
A metropolitan journal puts forth an
extraordinary and get on The whole, sensi-
BILE suggestion, as follows; Totbose hold
ing the policies Of life insurance compa.
MES, it is often a matter of wonder that
the life insuring corporations take such
little interest in their risks after they
have once got them fairly on their books.
Before the policy is issued, the applicant
is put through a more or less rigorous
examination, but after that, provided
the payments of premium are promptly
made, the company takes little, il any,
interest in its risk. 1t is true, there are
certain conditions in most policies which
provide that the assured shall not travel
in the tropics without first obtaining the
approval Of the insuring company, and
shall not engage in certain specified dan
gerous occupations; but these are to
meet exceptional cases and do not apply
to the average man. To Dor row a sug-
gestion from a kindred business, why
do not life companies seek to protect
their risks when in peril, in the same
manner that fire insurance companies do?
These latter, in each large city in this
country, maintain at their own expense
what are ~variously known as salvage,
protective, and patrol corps. These or
CARNATIONS are in every way supplied
with the appliances for saving property
from complete or partial destruction by
water, smoke, and fire. It is not the
duty OF their members to put out fires;
that is left to the FIRE departments. They
simply save, by covering over or carry
ing away, the property that would other
wise be damaged, if not destroyed, and
the experience of few years, since these
organizations hove been in operation,
shows that they often saw in a year
many times their cost of maintenance.
Now, why should not the life companies
make a copy Of this idea, furnishing, of
course, free medical advice instead OF
rubber Blankets Such a plan could only
be carried out in certain large cities
where a large number of policy holders
reside, and it would, moreover, be al
ways q difficult matter to say just the
amount and value OF the service which
the company's physician rendered, The
objection may be raised hat the policy
holder, when dangerously ill, would pre-
fer his family physician to one furpished
by the company; but this would hardly
apply if the company had a contract with
any one Of a dozen doctors who could be
named, to attend when necessary upon
its risks. Their reputation for skill in
their profession would be a sufficient
guarantee, and besides this, the patient
would know that they represented cor
poration that had q keen interest in re
storing him to health, Under existing
conditions, the companies leave this
work wholly TO the assured, trusting that
the law OF representation will be strong
enough to induce him TO procure suit
able medical treatment; but this does
not allow for the too common Ignorance
OF the healirg art which permits men to
intrust their lives in the keeping OF
quacks and oh~arlatans, often for the pur-
pose Of saving a dollar or twoin the fee.
The question OF cost is not here entered
upon, but this ought not to be consid-
cradle. Another matter that might also
cause changes TO be made in the actua-
rios' tables of mortality would be an oc.
casionnl sanitary inspection Of the houses
in which the policy-holders Of a city re.
side.