The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-01-08

GAR. Insurance.

To THE EDITOR: Several communications
having appeared in THE TRIBUNE suggesting
that the GAR. should become benefit life
insurance company, permit me to say that it
certainly would be very desirable thing if
some measures could be adopted, so that the
widow or dependent children of deceased COM
rades would be provided for. There are several
things to be considered in devising such plan.
The first is its cost. 1t costs no more for 100
persons to form mutual insurance company
on the assessment plan than if the company
consisted Of 1000 members. The assessment
would be 10 times as large, and would come
one-tenth as often. What does it cost per year
to insure the life of man who is in good health
at the time ho joins the company? From the
experience of II companies combined, covering
quite a number of years. it has been found that
the average death rate per 1000 of men who
were healthy when insured is: At the age of
o. 77-1G0; age of 30, 2S-100; age of 45, 10
81 100; age of so. Is 93100; age of 30, 81 66100;
age of6O, 30 34-100; age of 60, A. age of 20,
81 93-100. Thus you see constant increase in
ratio of the deaths. Now, what is the aver
age age of the members of the GAR? Prob
ably not far from 80 years. If they were all
sound men, able to pass medical examination,
the death rate would be, according to the table,
nearly 16 per 900 every year. If the benefit
to be paid is ST 900 the cost per member would
be $16 per year. Oftentimes it is less for the
first years a company is formed but i have
given the average which is sure to be reached,
whether the company is so large that five cents
per member will pay an assessment, or so small
that each assessment would be SO. The ex
perience of the G A r. Post in this place during
the past year would call for nearly double the
above mentioned percentage The most serious
difficulty is the one mentioned by comrade
in late letter to THE TRIBUNE-the constant
decrease in membership and q consequent de-
crease in the amount Of benefit, unless the
amount of assessment was increased, and it
was suggested that fund could be raised from
which the deficiency could be made up in the
years to come. 1t is subject that involves
great deal of thought, and in which we should
be kpided by the experience of the past
II the benefit to be realized was fixed
at $1,000, Department might answer very
well to form a society, but for all practi-
cable purposes Post is better. Let any Post
that wishes form such society include every
member, sick or we'll each member pay into
it 81 per quarter. Let it be invested. Pay the
benefits of $1,000 from it. Whatever was not
drawn in the earlier years would increase and
form fund for future use. But there is no dan
ger of any large fund accommodating. Let any
member take his own Post for example land
what is true of one Post is true of every Post on
the average), find the ratio of deaths to the
members for the past three years, and see what
amount of assessments would have to have been
laid to pay 1000 benefit in each death. We
shall thus arrive at the practical part of the
matter But remember, the ratio is constantly
increasing, and we must not only provide for
the present, but look out for the future.-J. w.
BATES, East Weymouth, Mass.