Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-08-18
Insurance and Silver.

New York Journal.
In the minds of some of our gold stand
ard contemporaries the failure of the
United Life Association has ranked with
the hot wave as one of the most melan-
choly results of the free silver agitation.
This company is one of the sort TO which
any kind of agitation that could afford II
an excuse for abandoning the struggle FOR
existence ought to be welcome. 1t is
pledged TO pay its policy holders $ll 2l'OJ
on the maturity of their policies. To meet
these claims it has $l7S.6 in cash, N,313.S2
i'm banks and other assets bringing up its
total resources to S2,552.49. It's assets
amount to one dollar in every $500 OF in
surance in force.
This company has been doing business
under false pretenses for years II has
been systematically engaged in heartless
swindle on the poor and helpless. To dig
Nifty its rascalities by ascribing their well
deserved retribution to the effects Of an
impending change in the national financial
policy is as silly and harmful as to sym
pathize with disposed gang of conf
dence men on the ground that silver agi-
tation has disturbed the market for green
goods.
But this affair suggests some reflections
on the business of the insurance COM
panies of a more reputable class and its
relations to the currency question. Some
of these corporations have recently been
urging the country to save them from the
necessity Of paying their policy holders
IN deprecated silver hey have said that
much rs they might long to pay their OBJ
LEGATIONS in good money. they could not do
Z. under free coinage. because their assets
would Immediately shrink TO the measure
of ffty-three cent dollars.
The assets of insurance companies are
invested i'm real estate. i'm securities spec
flying payment In gold. and in securities
payable in lawful money. Only the last
class of investments would be injuriously
affected 10y free coinage. even on the the
ory that free coinage involved deprecia-
ton. But it happens that prosperous in
surance companies do not pay their losses
out of their accumulated assets. They
make the years premiums cover the
years payments. and have a handsome
surplus left. In all countries and at all
times the aggregate insurance losses are
met by the current receipts. The Equit-
able last year carried s9l3.556.622 Of insur-
ance on S1S318S. $50 Of assets. The Metro
poHtan had only 500. 326.G22 of assets for
ll.375. 367 insurance. The insurance COM
panies doing business in the State Of New
York have collected premiums since their
organization amounting to N.593l7S'l'2
and have paid to their policy holders for
all purposes $9SG. $1,000. This includes
losses. cndowments annuities. payments
for Iapsed. surrendered and purchased
policies and dividends. 1t leaves over
$500 900 coo collected by the companies and
not returned 10 the policy holders.
Now. since all losses are paid out of cur
rent premiums. the effect Of a deprecia-
ton of the currency would merely be to re-
duce the actual amount of insurance paid
for and receivable without affecting the
relation between premiums and policies.
In other words. if we had the threatened
"fftv-cent dollar" a man who had been
buving $1,000 of insurance for 500 year
would buy 81 800 insurance for $50 year.
If ne wanted TO keep up his policy at the
old rate. all he would have to do would
he 10 continue his former payments at
their actual value.
The only sufferers in such case would
be the people who had paid premiums for
a long time on the gold standard, and who
were too old to take out additional insur-
ance at economical rates. But if the com
panies are really as solicitous for the well
fare of these patrons as they profess to
he they can easily protect them from loss
nv Offering them the privilege Of paying
their premiums in gold and having their
policies made payable in the same metal.
one of our Hanna contemporaries has
chided Mr.. Bryan for ignorance because
ne spoke of the interests of insurance
COMPANIES as distinct from those of their
/ policy holders. Most of the great COM
paries. 1t observes. are organized on a
mutual basis. and hence their policy hold
/ ers get everything they earn. II that
were true It would not seem TO make
much difference to the policy holders
whether the receipts and expenditures of
/ the companies were counted in ffty-cent.
/ one-hundred-ce or northumberland
dollars. They would merely be putting
I their money from pocket into another in
any case. Aside from the comparative
/ triee Of interest on lawful money invest
ments the only income of the companies
that would be affected by a depreciation
Of the currency is that which is paid by
the policy holders themselves.