The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-26
Fifty-fTSt Annual Report
OF THE
CONNECTICUT MUTUAL
LIFE INSURANCE
COMPANY.
To the Members

disturbances in the public finances pro-
ducing apprehensions more or less ap-
preaching panic for nearly the entire
period, both conditions having their ORR
gin largely in those questions which
became the issues in political cam
paign which, for the critical gravity of
the results involved and the intensity
of feeling engendered, has had no par
allel in our history
In such year enterprise loses much
of it's usual reward, and the best re-
suits in nearly any business are those
accomplished at least cost while main
tanning the4efhciency of the working
machinery and awaiting such favor
able change as will allow a satisfactory
amount of business to be done at usual
cost and without strain.
EFFECT ON BUSINESS.
Especially is this true in the business
of life insurance. It's cost is usually
reckoned as a part of ones expenses;
and when money is hard to come at and
profits are little and perhaps nothing,
new expenses are not readily under
taken, the usual ones are often curtailed
and business shrinlls. Under such con-
ditions a large volume of new business
can be maintained in only one way-by
such concessions on the first premium
as tempt a new insurer to take policy
which costs him little or nothing the
| first year and which he gets at the eX-
pense of the older policy holders whose
| money has to make up the deficiency
caused by what the new blood" costs
| but fails to pay.
| Were any given quantity of new bust
| ness in any one year necessary to the
stability of a company-as it might be
were the company new and it's amount
at risk as yet too small for a safe av-
erage experience-there might be a rea-
son for keeping up pace even at in
creased cost, If the business so gotten
were likely to stay by. But there is nc
company of our class doing business to-
day in any such situation; nor any
which cannot afford to let it's new bust
ness vary with the conditions affecting
the volume of every other business ex-
| cept those which have attached to the
simple methods of legitimate life insur-
ance certain wholly extraneous features
which create necessities of their own
/ and dominate the situation. The 'ac-
cumulated dividend companies, some
of which are losing SIPS, 900 and up
wards of old business every year, and
must keep very great amount of bust
ness going in order to keep up the 1apses
and forfeitures necessary to provide
their accumulated surplus or tontine
fund, have tried to educate the public
to believe that a great new business
and a great amount at risk" were the
true measures of success, and may feel
| that their choice lies between keeping
up the inflow at any cost, by any effect
i've means, and such a shrinkage as they
| cannot contemplate with equanimity
| However that may be- the vicious and
costly methods of competition are con-
| tinued.
AN IDEAL POSITION.
The Connecticut Mutual is happily
under the stress of no circumstances
natural or artificial, requiring it tC
force it's business beyond the conditions
of the time It's position is ideal, and
that to which every company ought tc
| strive to attain: a, business so large as
| to give absolute stability in it's average
experience, yet not so large but that In
| good times and under fair conditions il
can be maintained without difficulty
even allowing for occasional and con.
siderable shrinkages in bad times, q
standard of solvency beyond question
investments worthy such trust, an6
| O. TO sr;1
the largest possible saving to policy
holders, and so adjusted that, whether
it's business increases or shrinks, it viii
not have to cut it's dividends on that &C.
count.
That is the position we occupy Sc
far as the absolute safety of every pres.
ent policy-holder is concerned, or so fan
as his future dividends would be af.
fected, it is not necessary that weshoult
ever write another new policy. The
company would pay out to the very las
man and maintain the same relative
high dividends without it. The only
reason for taking new business is thai
we may give to new families the same
secure and cheap protection that those
of our present members are getting
The latter have no need whatever fol
any new business. And therefore it Is
that among all the struggles for frs
place as to new business and amount
at risk among the large companies, ant
those of the smaller ones to keep some.
where in the race, the Connecticut Mu
tua1 has steadily refused to compete fol
new business at the cost of present
policy-holders. What We can get withou
reducing their dividends we take; whai
we can't goes to those whose induce.
ments to agents and whose speculative
proposals and monetary temptations t
NEW men are great, but whose dividend!
to old members are smaller. In good
times we more or less enlarge our bust
ness. In hard times we husband oul
strength Indifferent to all considera
lions except maintaining our standard
of excellence.
We are thus explicit, not only beca ust
the matter is apt to these times, but alsC
because in the competition of bushes:
it is commonly represented by thost
whose only point of comparison with u:
is in respect of new business ant
amount at risk, that it is undesirable t,
insure in 6, company which is not rap
idly increasing its business; that ex
penses would be less, dividends larger
and security greater if we We're pushing
harder for new business and gettin,
more of it; a statement which is falls,