Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-22
MANNING FOR MONEY.
Many Cases of Fraud Against Accl-
dent Insurance Companies.
PEOPLE CUT OFF THEIR HANDS,
Or Put Their Feet Under Railroad Trains
for the Sum of $1,000. ...
COMMITTING SUICIDE FOB CASH

with A. n. Lockwood, President OF an acci-
| dent association in New York, he said to the
! writer:
'"The public hears considerable aDou THE
frauds that are attempted upon the life in
surance companies, but very little about the
| frauds upon the accident companies. A
| person not in the business can have no idea
! of the extent of fraudulent claims that are
made upon accident companies. In proper
tion to the number of persons insured they
outnumber the claims on the life companies
ten to one. There has lately been held in
New York meeting Of the representatives
OF some OF the leading companies doing an
accident business looking to reliefin this very
matter. The companies found they were
| being sw1ndled so outrageously that they
| have been obliged to get together for mutual
protection. The ingenuity of the human
mind is being exercised in an extraordinary
degree in the business of patching up
| fraudulent claims. About two years ago
the accident comp panies offered iudemnities
for the loss of les. arm, foot or hand, and
this has been worked extensively BY persons
! who didn't mind manning themselves in
| order to get insurance money. This opened
| up tremendous field for fraud, and 1t has
become one of the greatest evils in the in
| surance business.
The Price of Hand.
"As rule 50, 500 is paid for the loss of
either hand or loot, and you have no idea
the number of people there are in the world
| who are willing to lose hand or foot for
that much money. A President of one OF
| the accident companies tells me he is salts
| fed that not one claim has been genuine in
| all the claims presented against the com-
pany IN a year. My own experience has
not been quite so bad as this, and not so far
| from it either.
There is now a case that is being watched
with great interest by every accident COM
| pany doing business in New York, with the
| single exception OF my own company, where
| it is believed a man-and professional
man at that-maimed himself deliberately
to get insurance money. He had taken adj
vantage OF the clause offering indemnity for
the loss of foot, and if his scheme had not
miscarried he would have exchanged foot
| for S25, 900. He had, as l say, taken out u
| policy in every company in town, with the
one exception. He intended making a trip
West. taking his fowling-piece with him,
and on the day before he proposed starting
on the journey he let his gun fall and shot
off one of his great toes. The companies
heard of the accident, there was a hasty
comparison of notes, and three or four of the
best doctors were rushed to his assistance.
! The companies think they have evidence
| sufficient to show that the man intended TO
| have the foot amputated to avoid blood
poisoning, collect S25, 900 according to
| his policies of insurance. The chances are
| that he will have to compromise with the
| companies simply for the loss of his time,
which is not worth over S25 week at the
outside.
| Always Lose the Left Hand.
| "Now, cases like this are coming up
every day, and in many instances there IS
absolute proof of fraud. A curious thing
| is noted and that 10 that out of ten men
who lose a hand by accident nine of them
| lose the left nand. This was one of the
| things that began to excite suspicion. There
| is one case where q man is known to have
deliberately chopped off his own hand with
| hatchet, striking it two blows. You
| would hardly suppose man would do this
| for 81. 500. but so many men do it that one
of the objects of the recent meeting of in
surance men was to eliminate this leg and
arm premium, as 1t is called, from the poll
| cies.
zone of the cases investigated lately was
| where a man had lost foot on the railroad.
| The man claimed to have fallen off the train
| and had got his foot caught under the
wheels. He was found by the train people
sitting beside the track with his hat on, his
whatever about him to indicate that he had
| fallen from the train. More than this, the
| engineer had passed the same man a moment
| before the accident, and there was other
| testimony to show that he had walked up to
| the train aud thrust his foot under the
| wheels. This case was made so plain that
he is not at all likely to get cent of insur-
ance. Unlike the man who is believed TO
have snot off his big toe he is not likely to
,yfb far his lost time OF
there Is law against this selEmutilation,
but an insurance company is not often dis
posed to press it. They simply aim to pre-
vent swindle on their own treasury and
are willing to stop at that.
VIII Eliminate the Premiums.
at is a fact" continued Mr. Lockwood,
"that there are more fraudulent insurance
crippies in the United States to-day than
there are war cripples. This may seem like
a surprising statement but it can be veri-
fed. The business of selfmaiming. has
been going on to such an extent that If the
insurance companies did not themselves
adop. means to stop it the laws of the State
would have to take it up. If the informa-
tion known to insurance people had been
generally known there might have been
some legislation on the matter before now.
But this will not be necessary, as all the
insurance companies will, / think, before
long eliminate the leg premium from tnelr
contracts.
"Some months ago when it was apparent
that there was great loss going on in the
country in the matter of left arms, the prin-
cipaI com panies reduced the indemnity on
left arms, and since then there has been
fewer lett handed accidents. It has been
eight months since the indemnity was re-
duced for the loss of 3 left hand, and in this
time there has been a decrease in this
variety of accidents fully 80 per cent.
Hundreds OF accident claims are paid
which the companies are satisfied are fraud
ulent, but it is not good for the business to
be in the courts too much as contestants,
and SO the money is paid over without
lawsuit. The companies do not allow claims
where the insured committed suicide, and
vet such claims are presented and sometimes
paid. OF course, when man insures his
life with
View of Committing Suicide
for the benefit of his estate, he takes great
care that his death shall not appear to be
suicide. The companies, however, are not
easily deceived in this matter, and the claim
is paid not because they think the man met
with an accidental death, but because it
rarely paws to be contestant against a
widow and a family of children.
'HThe men VINO insure their lives for large
amounts and then commit suicide are in
nine cases out OF ten men who have been
we'll off and have lost their fortunes. They
have large family, perhaps, accustomed
to the luxuries of life, and the dread of
leaving them in want impels men to insure
their lives and then end their existence,
III, h,ra fal