The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-04-06
INSURING THE SICK. 3
WHAT HAS BEEN DETERMINED eY
BY VITAL STATISTICS.
Can Profit BE Made In IDsuring I'm
healthy Livss-A Table of Comparative
ProbabiIities-Theoret Expectations
of the Diseased.

healthy Livss-A Table of Comparative
ProbabiIities-Theore Expectations
of the Diseased.
The practice Of the Ike insurance com
panies IN nsuring only tho best lives has
often Deen the subject OF grim kind Of
hrmor. The people they insure" it is
said "gre those who appear from medi-
cal examination "a stand in no need OF in
surnuce. while those vino really do need
IL cannot yet il 80 This i not altogether
true. of course 4 good many " the
people who can successfully pass the medi-
cal examiners OF the insurance companies
stand quite Is much IN need OF insurance
as those who cannot pass. but IL il GER
tainly unfortunate that the latter who
certainly do stand in need of Insurance,
are unable to get it. IL IS not only un-
fortunate. but seems 10 be tribe unjust;
and the question Is often seriously asked
why. when the insurance risks are based
on general mortality and not on the NOR
tality among selected lives, the insurance
companies should decline risks upon any
lives but thc selected,
The answer il. probably. that the in
suraucc companies are not doing business
on ph.anthropic principles-though their
solicitors ould iain persuade as % the
contrary Dur t0 make money. But even
when HE answer has been given the ques-
tiou mny ~t.ll be- asked whether there Is
not profit % be- made in insuring i'm
paired lives.
THE UNHEALTHY LIFE.
An article in The American Exchange
and Review indicates the possibility that
this question may yet be answered in the
affirmative. u points ont that while the
unhealthy lie is, 20, a rule, in greater
peers. Of death Than the healthy one, the
-i~h .u tnr case Of the former can. in all
probability. be determined with as much
.ccuuc, and safety rs IL can in the case
% zee latter. This is certainly a reason
ulc view. The number of years upon
which healthy man OF 20, or 30 or 20,
% auy other age. can reasonably expect
.l So. las been asCertaiued by a careful
compilation of vital statistics. What is
fp prevent rhr ascer,ainment. by Ike
careful compilation OF the age 10 which
a. unhealthy or unsound man Of 20. 30
ol %. or any other age, may expect %
live
Ipa certain small extent, according 10
ti. article referred 10, this has been done
30, the Institute Of Actuaries in London,
England. in constructing a table Of com
parauye probabilities in the cases u
healthy aud diseased live, The figures.
though not 90 all conclusive, are very iu-
terestiue. showing side by side the sur
yiyorsh.ps at ~. 30. 40 80 80, ETC., OF
IL. 900 healthy and 10000 diseased lives,
starting az the age OF 10. Singularly
enough. ar the aye of - the showing In
the case or the diseased lives is tie better,
9. SO Of them surviving against 9.jj4 of
the healthy lives. From that time for
ward, however, the figures favor the
healthy lives In a gradually increasing
ratio At 30 the survivors in the healthy
10, 600 are : gOf against S,JfS in the dis
eased 10000 At 90 the healthy side
shows j,j47 survivors and the diseased
only 1882 Al 90 they are nearly equal,
but the diseased lives have the advantage
by one, showing 20 against p OF the
healthy lives.
THEORETICAL EXPECTATIONS
The Exchange and Review concludes
its article with what it calls n table OF
Theoretical expectations Of diseased life
which might more appropriately be called
a hypothetical table, inHsmuch as il Is not
put forward as even approximately ac-
curate. II is useful however, in the sug-
gestion il furnishes that table may be
constructed sufficiently accurate for prac-
teal purposes. Whether any Of the eX-
isting companies will take up the sugges-
ton i very doubtful The best Of them
are doing quite well enough on their
present basis not to be tempted 10 embark
in any new field and it IS earnestly 70 DO
hoped that the worst OF them. which are
not doing well now. will Lot iniure the
business of insuring impaired lives by
giving it bad send of
A fortune, however awaits the com
pany. old Or new, which shall, with sound
judgment and sufficient capital, enter
upon that business While the price TO
be charged would necessarily be higher
than In the case OF healthy lives, the risk,
If the business were conducted on 4 sound
basis, would probably be no greater. The
cost would probably be less, especially in
the item OF commissions or salaries to So
licitors. II anything can positively be
predicted as to an utterly untrled scheme,
il can be predicted that men Ot impaired
lives would need much less soliciting 10
induce them 10 insure than the men Of
healthy lives do.-Detrolt Free Press.