Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-06-03
INSURANCE PRESS" ROASTED.
9 s.FAKE" FRATERNAL INSURANCE
COMPANIES DENOUNCED.
Foreign Companies Accused of Disre-
EardinE kansas Laws-Demand
for Lower Fire Insurance
Ratcs-Statistics as to
Kansas Business.

missioner McNall In speaking OF fratefhaI
beneficiary societies, the commissioner says
that they can come into this state TO
transact business without coming through
the insurance department. provided the
same are labeled Secret Societies. ana thaI
they are required to report TO. no one
Frequently the aforesaid pretended Sc
cret fraternal beneficiary societies nave
no more habitation than a black
bird. They drop down in given
neighborhood through their pretended
local agents, without warning, insure at
a less price than any legitimate fraternal
beneficiary society. and whatever they col
lect, they are that amount ahead Ihey 10
not pay one cent, and finally disappear as
abruptly as they appear in the first In
stance.
Legitimate organizations cannot COM
pete with frauds and fakes. Some of the
fakes to illustrate. are organized in sister
states, and their charter provides that II
suit is brought. it must be brought IN 81.
Louis county, Mo. This office daily comes
in contact with complaints Of individuals
who have paid their money to fakes of this
nature, and after having paid a reasonable
length of time they can hear nothing from
them. Persons who desire TO join organlza-
tions in the future should first make IN
uuiry and find out what is n legitimate Sc
cret fraternal beneficiary organization. RMS
department is of the opinion that any and
ali organizations that do not come within
the provision of section 149, above quoted
are not entitled to transact business in this
state unless they come through the door OF
the insurance department as an insurance
company" ft ..,t.f
The only reference made TO the trouble
existing between the department and a
number of life insurance companies is
found in the following:
There have. in times past, been doing
business in this state. certain foreign IN
Arar1 81
business by permission OF the state. 'They
have no regard for the laws of this state,
or any other. when the same come IN reoh-
tact with their financial interests reir dheT
presidents. attorneys and general agents
advise the violation of law as 10 doing DUST pS
ness in this state without authorlLy, ,,i,nS hnS
permanently from the state the better IL
Will be for tho people of Kansas 49,.
Regarding present rates for nre 1nsur-
a'T1surance companies invariably say that
rates can't be lowered in this state In ,ed or
der to prove that they can McNail cltes
the alleged fact that the STOCK OF eighteen
of the large companies doing business IN
Kansas sells from III TO 500. Continuing ne
.fThe price of the shares is fixed. by the
net earnings of the various cofnpanles, .af anp
II would appear that stocks that are worth
from 800 to 500 per cent on the open market
can and should be compelled to reduce the
Here Is the opinion entertained by Com
missioner McNaIl of the Insurance press:
1.-THE parties and organs Jndt nave the
interests Of this state more at heart than
all others are the insurance press. As
rule. an organ of this nature, known as an
Insurance organ is born about as ire
uuently as an insurance company Is in the
East They have no subscribers except the
Insurance companies. They can obtain no
aJvsrtisernents AS a rule except insurance
ads; hence the have no one TO cater 10 eN-
cept the insurance companies. Iney un
their mind) are the special custodians Of all
the insurance departments. IL an insurance
department rules against an insurance
company, a line of argument Is presented
by the aforesaid insurance journals that
IS absolutely conclusive. .as Wen as con-
vincing. Here are samples: Fool, idiot,
calamity howler, despotf octopus batter,
playing to the galleries, czar, border rut-
ian bandit monstrOsty.' etc. One OF the
aforesaid editors, who is the publisher of
one of the alleged insurance Journals in
talking with the writer a short time after
the starting of his venture, said that busi-
ness was duh when he first started; that
he could not obtain business from insur-
ance companies. but he finally brought
them around by writing editorials de-
nouncing the companies, saying they We're
not solid financially, their management
was rocky, and enclosing the same 70 the
companies and saying the same would ap-
pear in the next issue of the aforesaid in
surance journal He said the result was all
that could be desired; II universally
brought am ad and a draft for a large
amount, and the write up did not appear
in the next issue The aforesaid editor
terprise of trying to prevent insurance SUI
perintendents from going wrong. There are
hut they are scarce. and usually have other
features in their paper besides insurance
In regard 20 ilre insurance companies Is 90
ing business In the state, the commission
There we're engaged in the business OF
fire insurance I'm this state in the year OF
1896 ten mutual companies. organized un-
der the laws of this state. During the
year they insured property of the value OF
81 362 SOL. IS Their total income for the year
was $50 767.OS. They paid losses in the sum
of S4S.7640S. and on December q, 1896, they
had Is 734 members.
"There was only one Joint stock fire com
pany organized under the laws of the state
doing business in 1896, Viz-The Shawnee
Fire Insurance Company. During the yeal
they insured property of the value OF
SlOiI2 63SS7. and received premiums upor
the same in the sum of N6IOG.I3. They
paid losses upon the same in the sum OF
There were sixty fire insurance com
panies Of other states and countries doing
business in Kansas in 1895. They insured
property in this state In the sum of Sll7.
9O91 III 40; received premiums upon the SAM
i'm the sum Of Sl5A.l76.S5, and paid losse!
upon the same in the sum OF $500 9l3.7i.
There were fifteen miscellaneous insur
ance companies from other states anl
countries doing business in Kansas in 1896
During the year they insured property II
the sum Of 81. .9o0.59; their premiums
amounted to $l2':2o5;!5, and their losses pai'
In dealing with life insurance compa
nies the report states:
'.Thpre was one domestic life Insurance
company doing business i'm this state fl
1Sq6 viz:-The Kansas Mutual Life Insur
auCe Company. The insurance written II
this state amounted to S451. 40 %: premium
received amounted to jl.562g7. and tn
losses paid during the year amounted Il
SIS 800 Amount OF insurance in force De
Cembcr 81. 1885. S.. .2S5. .S7i.95.'
There are twenty-seven foreign life in
surance companies doing business in tn
state. The insurance written amounted L
s. q7S 563. 81: they collected premiums in th
sum of 81. .293 2ll. -, and their losses pai,
during the year amounted 70 1854 qg9 L
Amount of insurance in force Decembe
81 1896 &5212S 07S7S
During tho twenty-siN years that thi
state has bad an insurance department
the foreign life, accident and fire insurauc
companies have taken out of the stat
same time. said companies have paid bacl
in losses to the people OF this state IN
sum of S20.Sli 4l6GS The argument is mad
by insurance people that some portion o
this vast difference is expenses. This (
true. A portion Of the same was used il
paying salaries Of presidents of companies
one received at one time the sum OF 500
600 per annum. ana one Of them at thi
time is receiving $4,000 per annum. q
course, on account OF being mutual com
panies the policyholderS are consulted a
10 the amount OF salaries that are paid
kansas is one of the best states in tn
Union. II raises more wheat more cor
and more cattle and hogs than any othe
state in the nation. Its people are hon
est and law-abiding. They never repudiat
their debts. and when they. in legislator
assembled. attempt to legislate along line
that will require capital that is taken ou
OF this state each year TO be I'm part re
Invested. certain parties cry themselve
HH-H.a