The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-04-03
FOR RISING BREAST
amount. and less claimants in financial

| SOLD BY ALL DRUGGISTS.
amount, and less claimants in financial
I condition, TO justify resort TO litigation
1T is not charged, nor believed, thai
this abuse Of power is the deliberate
aim and purpose of the management
except in a few instances. It was ad-
mitted and boldly defended practice
by one company found in this state in
April last, and when confronted with
the fact Of inability to pay its losses
| with its assets, cody asserted that ii
safely counted upon a settlement of its
loshses at one-half their face value.
"If there had been no other reason
than this admission, departmental &C
ton in Kidding the state of such COM
pany, for the protection of the insured,
would have found complete justification
1t is conceded that this case is an ex-
ceptiOn to the rule-an exception hop
ed 10 be as rare among companies as il
| IS offensive TO every known code of bus
mess morals. 1t is too patent for de-
NAL I am quite sure, that the evil has
/ its origin in two causes, for both of
! (which the home mana cement can justly
be held responsible. They are these:
! F'irst-Careless or corrupt action of
/ soliciting agents in assuming reckless,
/ unwise contracts for immediate and il
! legitimate gains in commissions for
I themselves; or in an unwholesome con-
( tention and unjustifiable competitive
! struggle for business, under direction
! of their immediate superiors.
Between these impulses all else is
! lost sight Of Applicants are induced
or allowed TO sign applications the con-
! tents Of which they neither know or I'M
! derstand; over-insurance is often the
! direct result of agents opportunities
! no sufficient survey is ma de of the prop
/ erty TO determine intelligently ITS in
/ suraOle condition or actual value the
numberless conditions in the body of
/ the policy affecting its possible value
| being neither read to, nor by the in
sured, and worse still, the moral haz-
ard is neither investigated nor recog-
nized
Second-The intervention of adjustors
and attorneys, each ambitious to insure
continuance in the service of their COM
panies through an exceptional record
| of vigilance and devotion, as shown by
economic results.
1T is notorious that the report OF a
loss is followed for the first time by a
critical examination of the policy by
these vigilent men. not to find out the
sum of Indebtedness, but to discover the
means of evading or avoiding its pay
ment-in whole or in part
This alleged vigilence means delay
in every step of adjustment until the
claimant is brought to a concession. or
forced into the arena OF law in which
years Of time and uncounted cost fol-
low, varied by an intimation, from time
10 time, that our company may con-
=aAVn4 L.,
payment of a reasonable sum-
at is firmly believed that no better
no safer standard of worth in an insur-
ance company can be found than in tn
legal docket of this department and in
the record of resistance resulting in
compromise of claims outside of the
courts. And that this department can
do no better service to the state than
by classifying them by this measure for
the information of the public.
ITO this end there will be added to
the present form of reports for future
use the necessary blanks TO show the
percentage of resisted claims; the per
centage of htigated claims, and of ad-
justment by compromise. The facts
thus eliminated will then become public
for the guidance of those seeking insur-
ance
LHSy VIII De CeIlle prime factor IN
determining the continuance of COM
panies in the state after the present
year: and in every case where il be
comes apparent that a company counts
upon the savings resulting from such
contention and resulting compromises
as legitimate element of gain and
profit, their authority to do business in
the state must cease.
by this test and action, deserving
companies cannot be harmed. but
greatly benefited. BY It undeserving
companies viii be left without sympa-
thy, and placed beyond power 10 per-
petuate their wrongs.
1T involves no bar TO the rights Of
a company to resist fraud in obtaining
4 policy, or crime in accomplishing
loss under ii by the insured. II is not
only right but a duty TO resist payment
and bring the guilty TO punishment in !
all such cases. But it is not 10 be as
Sumed that dishonesty exists among
the masse of insured, more than among
insurance companies themselves Such |
assumption is at once unreasonable |
and unjust"