Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-04-27


Probablities-Theorst Expectation.
OF the Diseased.
The practice of the life insurance COM
panies in insur1Eg oaly the best lives has
1ften been the subject Of a grim kind OF
humor TsThe people they insure" it is
said. s'are those who appear from a medi-
cal examination to stand in no need of in
surance while those who really do need
IL cannot get it." This is not altogether
true. OF course. il good many OF the
people who can successfully pass the medi-
cal examiners Of the insurance companies
stand quite as much in need of insurance
az those who cannot pass, but it IS GER
tainly unfortunate that the latter, who
certainly do stand In need Of Insurance,
are unable 70 get It. II il not only I'M
fortunate out seems To be a trifle unjust;
and the question il often seriously asked
why. when the insurance risks are based
on general mortality and not on the NOR
tally among selected lives, the insurance
companies should decline risks upon any
lives but the seiecFcdy
The answer is, probably, that the in
surance companies are not doing business
On philanthropic inciples-though their
solicitors '-ouid fain persuade us to the
contrarv-but to make money But even
when the answer has been given the ques-
ton may stIl DC asked whether there IS
not Il profit TO 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 II points out that while the
unhealthy life Is, as a rule. in greater
peril Of death than the healthy one, the
risk In the ease Of the former can, in all
probability, he determined with as much
accuracy and safety as it eau in the case
Of the latter. This is certainly reason
able view. The number OF years upon
which a healthy man of 20, or 30 or 40,
or any other age, can reasonably expect
u live, has heen ascertained by n careful
compilation Of vital statistics What is
to prevent the ascertainment. by n like
careful compilation, of the :se tq,which
al unhealthy or unsound man Of 20, 30
or 40, or any other age, may expect to
lvcs
To a certain small extent, according to
the article referred 10, this has been done
by the Institute of Actuaries in London.
England. in constructing table OF com
paratiyc probabilities in the cases OF
healthy and diseased lives. The figures,
though not ut all conclusive, are very in
terestiug. showing side by side the sur
vivorships AT 20, 30, 40, so, GO, etc, of
10000 healthy and 10000 diseased lives,
starting ut the age of 10 Singularly
enough, Mt the age of 90 the showing in
the case Of the diseased lives is the better,
9,Gl9 Of thea surv wing against 1904 Of
~ Il. e.
ward however, the figures favor the
healthy lives in "A gradually increasing
ratio At 80 the Survivors in the healthy
~, 900 are 1904 against S,54S in the dis
eased 5000 At so the healthy side
shows 5.5i, survivors and the diseased
only .S32 At SO they are nearly equal,
but the diseased lives have the advantage
by one, showing 26 against 25 of the
healthy lives
THEORETICAL EXPECTATIONS.
The Exchange and Review concludes
its article with what it calls table of
"theorctical expectations of diseased life, -
which might more appropriately be called
hypothetical table. na>much as it is not
put forward as even approximately &C
curatn 1t * useful however, in The sug-
gcstiou it furnishes that table may be
tica purposes. Whether any of the ex-
isting companies will take up the sugges-
ton is very doubtful. The best of them
are doing quite well enough on their
present basi~ not to be tempted to embark
in any new field and it is earnestly to be
hoped that the worst Of them, which are
not doing well now, viii not injure the
business of insuring impaired lives by
p!XIuy il "A had -ru1 off
\ fortune, however, awaits the com
pauy old or new, which shall. with sound
judgment and sufficient capital, enter
upon that business While the price &c
be charged would necessarily be higher
than IN the case of healthy lives, the risk,
if the business were conducted on n sound
basis, wuull probably he no greater The
cost woul3 probably be less {. peciaIly in
the item If commissions or salaries to So
licilor- II anything can positively be
predicted rs to IN utterly untrie,l scheme
il can be predicted HAT men Of impaired
live, would need much less soliciting tc
induce thein to insure then the men Of
healthy lives do,--Dctroit Free Pres