Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1882-02-27
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| money, or in any way affecting the trust,
| without an order of court, after notice to all
parties interested and an opportunity to be
| heard, and, moreover, without the same no.
| tice and opportunity being afforded TO the
State itself through the Attorney General.
| In other words, every step in the process of
winding up an insurance company is watched
| by the Attorney General, the Supreme Court,
and the persons whose pecuniary interests
are affected If there are to be receiver
ships at all, it is hardly possible to devise
any machinery more theoretically perfect
than this.
Now for the results which it produces in
actual operation. The Continental Life In
surance company was placed in the hands of
s., 600, 900 nominal assets. Within this Pc
Rod three receivers have endeavored to wind
it up. They have paid out for expenses
S288, 915.1 Il, and to the policy holders a divi-
dend of fifteen per cent, or $685., 600. The
Guardian Life and three other companies
amalgamated with it came under the care of
Receiver Pierson in 1877. The cost of their
management has been Sol, oil. 76; the amount
paid to policy holders, nothing. The Secu-
rity has paid policy holders S124, or but
then it has cost $40, SIS. 81 to do it. The re-
ceiVer of the Atlantic Mutual went to work
in 1877, when the company was believed to
be nearly solvent. Il had over 81, OOO, COO in
good assets. After the appointment of the
receiver an attempt was made to reorgan-
of his hands. This he felt it to be
his duty to resist, and he did
successfully resist it at a cost of
S22, 900. Down to November 80, 1851,
the expenses of the trust have been so, 6Ss,
while the receiver has succeeded in paying TO
the creditors SOL 600, result which viii
probably teach policy holders in other CON-
panies that they had better let the receiver
alone when he is once appointed. The re-
ceiyer of the Globe Life was only appointed
in 1879; he has worked hard and in less
than three years he has spent S94, 900. while
the policy bolders have received as the result
of his exertions SI62, 600.
Taking eleven well known companies, the
ratio of expenses to results appears to be
forty one per cent In the case of those
companies, the management of which has
tionsl, the poHcy-holders have had
to pay for every 500 collected $4i
to collect it-and this, too, in some
cases, notwithstanding the most determined
and original efforts to save than from loss.
For instance, in the case Of the North Anne
RIGA life, Mr.. Pierson has been managing the
trust for five years, and has paid out nothing
to tbs policy holders, yet, to show how ae-
tive he has been in it, he testified in a refer
ence with regard to the funds in his care,
that he spared no pains and hesitsted at no
risk, but loaned them on the street on the
best collaterals he could get, sometimes for
ten days. sometimes for three months, leay-
ing to his brokers absolute discretion as to
get the highest rate of interest possible-and
yet the company only got three per cent on
the money. Mr.. Pierson is, We believe, still
working away at his trust.
1t is absurd to suppose that any changes IN
the Law will remedy this state of affairs. The
law we have is as good as need be already.
But if the investigation into the ADMINISTERS
ton of it were carried little further some
strange things might be brought to light
Who are the judges through whose hands all
this insurance business goes Or can it be
always the same Judge? and, if 50, who Is he,
and where does he sit Who are the attor-
neys of the receivers whom he appoints to
execute the delicate trust of winding up m
solvent companies and why is it the same
familiar legal names appear in the affairs of
so many different companies? By all means
let us have the bottom facts" about the adj
ministration of these carefully guarded
trusts,