, 1890-10-26
AN INSURANCE AGHNI.
SOME OF HIS TRIALS AND TROUBLES
WITH CUSTOMERS.


Women Do the Rest work-DipIomaey
and a Hard Heart Necessary to Success.
DimeuIty In Securing New Risks-Pre-
miums in Small Sums.
Among the many thousand bread win
ners OF this big city there is no class where
success depends 50 entirely uPon the merit
OF the worker alone, and where outside in
huence has so little control, as IN what is
known as the industrial insurance bust
ness. Here the worker is Judged by results
only. His personality, what he can do and
what he may be able TO do in the future
are never taken into consideration. What
he has done, that, and that alone, Is all
that is ever looked at, and all hat IS ever
paid for.
The industrial insurance agent comes
and goes as regularly as the weeks roll by,
gathering in the nickels, the dimes and the
dollars, and ever on the alert to write up
new policies. An agent OF one Of the com
panies which conducts this class of bust
ness was approached the other day by a
reporter, and in reply to several queries
gave him the following information:
"Yes, il Is hard work trnmping all day,
and harder work still to get people to in
sure. The bulk Of the business in Phila-
delphin is written up. Why there is hard
ly a house where / go weekly TO collect the
premiums in which every member is not
insured, many people holding policies in
two or more companies on the same life.
so you see with this state Of affairs e
isting it IL rather difficult to obtain new
insurance, and it is from the new insur-
ance he writes that an agents chief re-
Enumeration comes. although we are paid
Is per cent, OF all we collect in premiums
weekly"
MUST BECOME HARD HEARTED.
"Do you experience any difficulty In this
portion OF your lahorf'' asked the re-
porter.
well, no; not now. You see / nave be
come hard hearted and am deaf to alex
cuses. II the people do not pay NJ the end
Of the allotted time | lapse them. am
forced TO do II for my own protection.
For, should | carry them on my books and
thus keep their policies in force after the
prescribed four weeks, and should they fail
in the end to pay me. why | would be out of
pocket for the difference between the time l
had carried them and the four weeks
allowed by the company. which, II the
number OF d"elinquents was very large,
would soon consume my commission No.
| have very little trouble now, but at frs:
had considerable All new men do. They
are apt to be easy with the people and al
low them TO get behind in their payments.
But with ths old men it is quite n differ
ent thing. They insist on being paid and
generally get there. Being accustomed to
hearing the tales of woe, to which we are
all obliged to listen, they stick it out,
whereas n new man at the business would
say he would call again next week before
the tale were half over"
tIlOpa yOmr rOmuauv ppnnlOy Vypman aa
agentsi" again asked the reporter.
"Oh, yes. believe they are scattered all
over town, in all the companies, and are
increasing in numbers"
What Of their ability as ngents,"
"They make the best agents, and ar,
much more successful than men. You cnr
understand that from the fact that Il WON
an has less difficulty in gaining entrance C
n house than n man, and an agents work Is
half over II he can succeed In getting in.
In this event. providing he knows his bust.
ness. he generally comes out with an appli.
cation for n policy. And once you succeed
in getting one on your list you are fairly
certain Of eventually writing mp the whole
family.
WOMEN ORE PATIENT y DIPLOMATIC.
women are much more patient than
men, aud understand how to meet and
parry another wOman's argument. They
never meet with the rebulTs hat the men
do. Only II few days & | rang the door
bell Of n house in West Philadelphia, and
on being answered by n young girl | po,
litely inquired whether they were insured
or not, stating at the same time what com,
pany | represented and our general plan Of
business. She did not appear to under
stand, and after staring blHnkly at me fol
a few moments was on the point of calling
20 49,, n,n - . ba rear .rhan N ,raf,a fra,
that quarter came to her assistance: Shut
the door, Maryi shut the door in his face
He's only one OF them darn insu men
drat ieml'
THE loo closed with a bang and | pro
ceeded calmly to the next attack. Now
this would not have occurred had a woman
been in my place. for she would never hRv'
stated her business on the steps, but in
stead, as soon rs the door opened, woulC
have walked gracefully in, and once il
would have held the fort until success.
crowned her efforts, for she is the person.
6cation OF persistence, and / feel safe il
predicting that eventually she will mo
nopOlize the whole business
"How does YOU work pay your" in
quired the reporter.
I'VE receive from nine to eleven time
the amount we write, according to TIN
amount Of weekly premiums we collect
or, in other words, should | insure you
life for a weekly premium of ten cents
would receive from ninety cents to 81. II
for the work. according to the size of m,
collection book. The larger the book tn,
more money we are paid fornew business
"Do the companies have any trouble il
obtaining ageutsg'
NO; they can get all they wish, but it i
to keep them after they get them where tn,
rub comes. That IS the general complain
of the policy holders. New agents all tn
time. Some stay n few weeks, some a few
months; very few stick it out longer
Philadelphia Times.