The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-15
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER WANTS
THE PEOPLES LIFE COMPANY
CALLED TO TIME.
SAYS 1T TRIES TO MIsLEAD
IT'S PATRONS BY THE CHARACTER
OF IT'S ADVERTISING
MATERIAL.
This Was the Thing Which Led the
Commissioner to Resort to He
rOic Measures.

Insurance Commissioner Dearth sent
| a request to the state legal department
yesterday to take steps for the appoint
| men of a receiver for the Peoples Lille
Insurance company, of st. Pau, ana 70
wind up the affairs Of the concern. MI.
Dearth became suspicious OF the Peo-
! nle's company when it filed it's annual
statement showing that it has only
written twenty-seven policies, whereas
the law requires that when any COM
nany begins business it must file an
affidavit that it has applications from
fifty persons for membership. NJ"
ever, the company reported TO the III
surance department later that II hao
secured forty-six additional members
and on the strength of this was granted
a renewal of authority.
EVERYTHING went along nicely a1ter
that until one day Insurance Conniis-
sioner Dearth received letter WITH
some of the Peoples Life insurance
conpany's literature in It, Also us
following which had been sent out ny
the company to a prospective Ills ei
in the Peoples company.
Mr. Dear Sir: Yours at hano: .
Please find inclosed sample poncy OF Ihe wv wv
c,ass with circular and Application.
have no DOCTORS examination, as We WIZ wy;
rathar depend upon our agent and the april
cation as it saves the expense anu Dl-nSs
the membership fee down to 81. Hoping uae
nIon off our comDany will suit you, yours,
f'''-' George R. Huff, President
Mr.. Dearth didn't like the idea OF pre-
ferring the examination OF an agent 10
that of a physician, but that dlo not
strike him as being any more opJeo-
ticnabIe than some Of the printed mat
ter. The following is sample OF WhaI
the circular contained:
The PEOPLES Life Insurance company can
not fail to meet its obligations, as the state
compels it's officers to be prepared TO sno"
at any time fund to fully equaI us 9D,,s ;t,,
tons; therefore we will always be 1ouna WIN
a dollar op hand for every dollar promisea III
The state does not allow any company to
make false assertions in its printed mat
ter. therefore, any one holding policy in our
company may feel himself perfectly safe IN
his small investment,
Furthermore. we make the assertion that
we are the only company that can produce
dollar for every dollar promised. ,.,,
Don't put a thousand dollars in oank
from which you may never get a collar, 'Dut
put dollar in the Peoples Life insurance
company for policy that may bF!Ds you a
thousand dollars. and you will make an m
vestment that is safe and one that is care
fully guarded by the insurance commissioner
of the state of Minnesota.
The circular also explained Why the
company is the "best, cheapest, safest
and strongest" all of which looked
very well in circular, but which Mr..
Dearth had some question about being
true. Mr. Dearth concluded to call and
| find out whether or not the company
had a fund to fully equal. its obliga-
| lions" or not So one afternoon recent
| ly he stepped into an elevator in the
Union block and stepped. out on the
| second floor which is the home Of the
| Peoples company. Then he found out
that the financial condition of the COM
pany could be summed up as follows:
Assets
May IA $40 70
Liabilities
Prntlng az az
| Borrowed money .........................5o o w
Total ......................... Sooo oV
Mr.. Dearth also found that there are
only twenty EIGHT policies in force at
this time; only about half of the num-
Der which a company is supposed to
have before doing any business at all.
He questioned the officers Of the COM
| pany about it's condition and asked if
they had had any claims against it.
He was Informed that one of the men,
bers had died; that they had paid the
| claim in full.
How much did the policy call for, "
| asked Mr.. Dearth.
Zone dollar and fifty cents" was the
reply.
The company was DESTROYS of trying
| to do something to bring itself within
| the requirements of the law, but Mr..
Dearth saw no future for it and con-
Guided to have it's affairs wound up.
He set the foregoing facts before the
attorney general yesterday, adding that
| the literature used in soliciting business
sis misleading and amounts to nothing
more nor less than an attempt to secure
money under false pretenses." He
therefore asked the attorney general to
make an application to the court for a
receiver and to wind up its affairs.