The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-02
OUR LIFE INSURANCE.
I'll CITY HAS THE LARGEST C0M-
PANIES IN HI WORLD.

New York is not only the life insurance centr
OF tho country, but IL has the largest lifc com
panles in the world. Three Now York companie
have over half the total assets and surplus of nj
tho companies in the United States and do ncarl,
half Of all the business. Tho combined assets o
those three companies exceed $637 900. 600. theii
surplus exceeds 500. ooO, 900, and their insurance
In force exceeds 81, 1884, oo, 900. Their annua
income is over $133,0 0o, 900 and their annua
disbursements exceed $92, 200, 900. Tho death
claims paid by these companies frequently reach
49, o 900 n month.
According to a recent computation by ID. N,
Holway the United States lead the world in life
insurance. They have the largest companies In
tho world. Their companies do moro business
than those OF any other country, and they hold
about fl per cont. OF tho worlds lifo insurance. II
Is said that life insurance Is q direct outRrowth OF
tho love Of home and the love OF family. Judged
by this test Americans arc n homc-loving people,
and their love takes a practical direction.
1t has been remarked by an eminent authority
rs n curious fact that life insurance had It's
origin in gambling pure and simple; In other
words, that the science of life contingencies is
based upon the doctrine Of chances. Nearly $50
years ago Chevalier Niert, n Partisan gamcster,
applied to Able Pascal for the solution of tho
problem in how many casts of the dice one might
safely bet that two skies would be thrown.
Pascal proved that by observing n sufi-
ciently largo number of happenings in tho
past he could with great precision predict
the number Of happenings which would
occur under similar circumstances in the
future, and thus was enunciatcd the theory or
doctrine OF chances. In time this doctrine was
applied to. and became the basis of, life insurance.
II it were nsccrtaincd that out of u large number
of persons of a given age, similarly situated rs
regards health. occupation, climatic influences,
&C., a certain number had died in one year. the
percentage Of deaths in a given time under SINH
lar circumstances could be predicted with pre-.
Cision, provided the number were large enough
TO secure n proper average. The solution of
problems connected with games of hazard led
TO the discovery of the laws of chance,
upon which, rs an exact science. was
built up tho theory of life contingencies.
While nothing is more uncertain than the dura-
tiOn OF n single life, nothing is more certain than
the number OF deaths which will happen in n
given time among u large number of persons
under known conditions. In an abstract sense
life insurance is u game in which the individual
bets the insurance company that he will die in
ono year, and vice versa. The premiums arc the
stakes. and as tho face of the policy is to the
OF premiums paid so are the odds offered
by the company. But in a concrete or moral
sense inc trlllSaCtlOn Is inc reverse or gambling;
IL is a known result for n known risk.
A New York company was the first to intro
duce the system OF non.forfeiture. since adopted
by all other American companies. A speciality
in the leading American companies is the large
amount OF insurance written on tontine plans.
This Is simply an agreement by which a surplus
is retained and accumulated for the exclusive
benefit OF those policy holders who survive and
keep in force their policies until the end Of the
period agreed upon. generally ten. fifteen, or
twenty years. Lapses arc found 10 be fewer in
the tontine than among the ordinary life policies.
In addition TO what are known rs the old-line
companies there are in operation In the United
States several hundred cooperative or assess
inent companies. frRternal and secret associa-
tions. which depend upon assessments OF sur
vivors to pay death losses. 1t is estimated that
In this class OF companies there is now outstand-
n meg l,ns doTblo the asHS Smoupi carried Gao j'3 Sr iSe o 7
line companies.
The annual report of tho New York State In.
show that the hte insurance companies doing
in this State have during the last year
5000 900 in surplus. and about S2i5, GOO, 700
OF insurance in force. Their total income for
The year was abo%. s27s, oo0, 600, end their total
about Sl34. 200. 900 was for account of policy
The total assets now held by these
is over Sl75 O00, 900. and the total in.
suEaneG in force is nearly 81, 81 9oo. 900.
equal to over half OF ali. There are only twelve
New York companies. but their total assets
surplus exceeds Sl09.O 900. 900. Tho insurance
in force in New York companies is s3. 900.
300, of which S47 100000 was put on tho hooks
lapse and surrender, in addition to policies ma
turing by death: so that the gain. of insurance
greatest difficulties that insurance managers
have TO contend ,with.thc fcklcness OF great
numbers OF people, which lends them to takc
insurance one wear and urDD II the next 40 that
Il is necessary TO do considerable business or to
ground.
New York is oftcn spoken of as the money
centre OF the Western Hemisphere. 1t ia not SO
often thought OF as the life insurance centre.
the life companies having their home offices in
New York are greater than those of any other
r la of financial institnti9nsi Comparison Of
iho case. The banks Of New York city have n |
capital and surplus OF about Sl40.o0O.0 0O, and
sources of $7lo,OOO 900, as compared with
$40. DOC. 600 in assets held by the life insurance
s sS%iRss BANKS * t Of N CITY, FORK Tx? st @feo sre s 11 tss
HIM those Of nn 400 ether dnd State in the oUnion;
I hS'S Sffas @Tsf SSat soS SUi The sf fife ins xa$n;Soo s ;o0o
s,lrpass tho savings banks by about
600. DOC
inc" over savings banks, an official Of a large
lie company said TO THE Sun reporter.
, ut is because b. ~ iido Insurance mnltipliss mems
Of y policy Mt tn" age OF % is only about
of the amount guaranteed by the
company in case OF death; 4 few years ago n
lunatic published a pamphlet on the
Cause OF the Present Hard Times. in which he
gravcly argued that IL was because tho life in
surancc companies Were boarding such large
mounts OF money. He assumed that their
were all locked up In strong
boxes, and that in this way money was
Kept out of circulation. But one of tho first
of life insurance management is that
he funds of the company must be kept earning
interest, and so we find that the companies OF
his Stale have about $780, 900. 900 invested in
estate, about $500 900, 900 In bonds and
Mortgages, and about $350,000,oo0 in United
states, state, city, county, and railroad bonds.
)ther loans aggregate about 500. 900. 900. and
about $l5. 900. o consists of deferred and un.
)aid premiums. all of which is amply secured.
As a matter of fact. the lie companies probably
avo q less percentage of their assets Idle than
almost any other class OF financial institutions.
The life insurance business in the Unitcd
states is almost entirely the growth OF the last
ifty years. Tho early companies relied chiefly
m English experience. hut now tho American
arc the largest in the world. and sew
,ral OF them have had for years prosperous
agencies in European countries. The early pol.
cies provided only for the payment at death OF
no amount insured. and there were many con
litions under which the policy became null and
.-Il M .---a Ill.," a-.-. a A. l