The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-03-20
LIFE INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS.
Interesting Address by President J.
e. Dewitt.

maine enjoyed supper az Ile ITeDle bVuso
last evening About thirty gentlemen were
present An excellent supper was served at
Z p. M, and after cigars were lighted, Plesi-
dent j. L. Dewitt of the Union Mutual of
Maine gave very interesting history OF life
insurance of which the following is a sketch :
The history of life insurance companies OF
the country is linked closely to the history
| of our people. Since our nation attained
the growth of manhood it has grown and ex-
panded with it.
In the darkest5 days Of our governments
finances one of the first large subscriptions
to the first loan to the government was made
! by life insurance company, which also adj
! yanced money to equip regiment, and dur
| ing the war the companies were ever ready
with financial support
About the close of the war came that first
wonderful expansion Of the business. 1t is
now nearly quarter OF a century since
| first entered the ranks of the life insurance
| fraternity. | recall the prejudice existing
among all classes against the business at
that time; some refuse to apply for life in
| surance because they thought they would
| die within year if a policy was written !;
others refused because it was distrusting
| Providence; and there were those who in
sisted that their friends must be insured at
| once because they would not live year.
Such gentlemen, was the beginning of
! the business; such was the field for the early
missionary work
| With the expansion came the organization
of new companies, and from 1856 to 1870
hardly month passed without the formation
| OF one or more
The agents of the companies are the ones
who meet and talk with the people-know
their wants and demands, and L venture TO
say that there has been no great change in
| the transaction of this business tending
toward liberality to the insured which was
not brought about by and through the infiu-
ence of the agents upon the management OF
the companies. The result of this influence
is to be seen in the liberal provisions of to-
day in the policies of the companies as re-
| CARDS occupation, residence and surrender
| values, which are the bases of the present
popularity and wonderful growth of the
| business
The spirit of liberaity mentioned above,
| first was manifested in life insurance bust
ness about ten years ago, and the marvellous
increase since then has been the outgrowth
of it.
! No longer has a man to apologize for being
| life agent; he has now simply to present
| the plans of his company to the proposed
| patron, and discuss the relative merits of
them as any other line of business would be
| discussed.
Now, what have the life insurance agents
| accomplished? What is their record in the
| business? The gentlemen who have pro-
| duced and put upon the books of the compa-
mics the promises to pay, in the shape of
| policies, which now exist in an amount ex-
| ceeding the entire public debt of the United
! States, are the agents of the companies.
Surely record to be proud of.
Certainly the officers cannot claim that
! they have produced this business directly
through their work with the insured. Their
claim must necessarily rest upon their sue
| cess in the selection of representatives in the
| field, in the preparation of canyassing litera-
ture, in the careful choosing of medical men
to examine applicants, and the wise consid-
GRAFTON Of applications and examinations
when referred to the Home Office, together
with the judicious investment of the compa-
ny's funds, and the making of conservative
contracts with the agents. The actual labor
| of securing the business is upon the shoul-
ny would exist, and with a corps of conscien-
| tious, intelligent, energetic agents no compa-
ny can fail to grow.
Gentlemen, wherever you go you take with
| you not only your own character and reputa-
ton, but you take with you that of the COM
pany you represent and the business in
| which you are engaged. The standard of
that businesssamong thepeople you associate
with will be--so far as your individual infiu-
ence goes-high or low, according as to your
own standard of business procedure is high
| or low.
Samuel Johnson said: Integrity without
| knowledge is weak and useless; knowledge
without integrity is dangerous and dreadful"
Let your competition be manly, honorable
and straightforward; always present the
merits of your own company in the best light
you possibly can. Your mission is not to
destroy the credit character and reputation
of the management of other institutions; the
the day of that sort of competition is past,
and your association, and associations of like
kind elsewhere, are living protest against
the return of this element into the business.
Your mission is to buildup your own compa-
ny, and to do this you must conduct Your
nOmnntlfIAn with VQnr pniQhhOFS q c N uuif,
the confidence Of the public: and to that end
must deal with all in an honorable and high
| spirited manner.
| During the year 1887 the combined life in
! surance companies reporting to the above
/ named departments paid the benefciaries of
! their policies $36 947 051 in death claims
alone, and their total payments to policy
| holders were $40, 296, 294.00.
| This total represents an amount of $685.
| 600 per working day paid to benefciaries of
| policies by the life insurance companies of
| this country. and there is probably no BUSH
ness in this or any other country which has
| distributed so much money per day where 1t
has done SO much good Probably not ten
per cent OF these claims paid went where
the money would add simply to an accumu-
lation already large enough but this vast
sum was bestowed where it served to relieve
necessity; not absolute want but in ma
jority Of cases disagreeable necessity. This
record exhibits the joint labor of the official
staff of the home office and of you gentlemen
in the filed. A credtable record, surelyl
Gentlemen, while we are all in this business
for the same reason that others are in any of
the walks Of life, namely, for the business
opportunity it affords to us, yet when we
come to look upon the result of our work and
the benefits to mankind growing out of it, we
have reason to be proud of our calling.
The dry goods merchant sells his goods
and they are worn out; the money paid and
the goods purchased have both become of no
avail to the buyer. The grocer sells his
goods, which are consumed, and both money
and goods lost to the purchaser. The mer-
chants are the only ones who grow rich out
Of these transactions. While the gentlemen
in the pursuit of your business not only re-
celve fair compensation for their services
by the payments from the purchaser for their
goods, namely, life insurance policies, yet
when the bread-winner lays down his head
and dies the reward of his purchase has not
disappeared. but takes the form of bene-
faction, and appears at the hearthstone,
bringing with it happiness, comfort and
prosperits to his survivors.
This leads me to my concluding thought,
| which Is, does this business representa-
what does this business do?
1t represents future home for widows
and orDhans-the comfort and happiness of
families that otherwise would be destitute
| the prevention of crime by the abolition of
poverty-the loyal love and forethought of
the head of the family in furnishing the pro-
lection which these policies of insurance af-
ford TO those he will leave behind,-and the
| fostering of families which otherwise would
be scattered to the four quarters of the
globe, because the bread-winner has gone to
his "long home" after being unable from
al 4.