The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-02-23
Receipts above .expendi-

The foregoing figures represent vast in
terest They indicate steady and an enSr-
nous drain upon the wealth of the State.
More than 81 500, 900 go sut annually to en-
rich other States and communities, TO come
back no more Just here it is prudent to in
quire: What do these foreign Insurance
Companies, corporations owing their exist
euce to charters obtained outside of Indiana,
invest? We answer, nothing at all. They
do business in Ladiana entirely upon Indi-
ana capital. As~e have shown, these for
eign Insurance Companies, Fire and Life,
received last year s., 456, 1861 from the
people of Indiana. They paid back to them
and to the State Sa,276, 7s5. S. and pocketed
the balance. The people paidGhe premiums
paid the losses and paid the tax-and gave
the Companies beside more than
81, oe0.9oO. The Companies paid nothing de-
rived from Other sources This vast
amount of money p&id by the people annu-
ally to foreign Insurance Companies is
about four times the annual interest, at 5
per cent, on the Stsse.debt. domestic and
foreign. 1t is tax thai, in two years, would
build the State House ii is q tax which.
an four wears, would wiQe out the SKATE debt.
These Fire Insurance Companies have poll
eies OH Indiana property of not less than
St5o;OoO, 600, and the nuuIber of life policies
is a secret locked up in the archives of the
Lie Companies. They are enough how
ever, to enable the Life Companies to draw
from the State premiums TO the amount of
$685. ,174.47 a,year. Now, then, we ask, what
security has the people oE Indiana against
fraud9 Their solvency? their integrity?
their fair dealing? We say, in the light of
current events something more is demand
ed. The people of Indians are not over
exacting. They are moderate in their de-
mands. They are paying largely. They Ee-
quire to know TIE financial condition 81
these foEeign Companies. TSSey demand
semi-annUal statements chat shall
be sworn to, and they demand
that these statements shall not only be
made and sVsorn to and filed with che proper
officers, but that they shall be published
Serniannuallg in newspapers OF general
circulation throughout the State. so that
quired information with regard 50 their
condition, their solvency and their ability
to paF when Losses are sustained by fire or
death. The people are paying these Com
panies, above their losses, iKaore than $1,000
900, annually. TSey are footing all the
bills, and, in consideration of these ex-
penditunes, they dezaand THAI the insurance.
Companies shall exPend a small fraction OF
their gains to give them, in the mONt
convenient form, information vital to their
protection against loss The bill now pend
ing before the Legislature denies the people
mentg instead of semi4nnual statements.
A year is long time in the
history of an Insurance Company.
In twelve months an Insurance Company
may be wrecked with total Toss to the in
sured Such things have too often occurred
to silence apprehensions. Quarterly state
ments would be better than semi-annual
statements: hut annual statements are GER
tainly not in the interest of the people. But
worse still, the bill to which we refer pro-
vides that these foreign Insurance Com
panies may file statements with Auditors,
beyond which the people shall have no
means of knowing their condition. If a
farmer, a merchant or a manufactures de-
sires to know the condition OF q foreign
Insurance Company, he must perform pill
grimage to the Office of the County Auditor
and take his chances to obtain the required
information, and when obtained it may be
so old as to create doubts, in which case he
is required to go it blind. In justification
of this policy-this favoritism to foreign In
surance Companies clamor is set up that