The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-04-09

State Insurance Commissioner Dearth
Is daily In receipt Of letters from out
side parties asking In regard to the
Life Insurance Clearing company Of
this city.
Mr.. Dearth stated yesterday that in
view of the fact that the courts had
refused the application Of the attorney
general for a receiver, he did not see
what could be done to further protect
the policy holders of the company, I'M
less It would be to bring an action
against the officers at the regular term
Of the district court.
Mr.. Dearth said this should do done
and that he would take the matter up
again with Attorney General Childs
just as soon as the rush of the opening
Of the April term Of the supreme court
was over.
/. He thought the policy holders should
be afforded every protection on their
policies. The procedure of the Life In
surance Clearing company had been
quite foreign to that of a company
which fully protected the interests Of
Its premium payers.
Instead Of answering inquiries Of its
constituents, Mr.. Dearth said, they
tried to discourage the policy holder in
holding the policy, telling them that
their policy was worth so much in paid
up insurance and making them a cash
offer, greatly deprecated from it's ac-
tual value, in fact some Of the offers
of the company were ridiculous.
A letter was received from a man In
Massachusetts, by Mr.. Dearth yester-
day which, he said, showed the manner
in which the officers Of the Insurance
Clearing company did business.
The letter stated that the writer held
$4,000 policy with the company, and
that up to a. few months ago his
hrnf h oil al p,rl1
but on the advice Of certain officer
Of the company he sold his policy for
SIS cash, upon which he had paid 81, 900
in premiums. The company in their
correspondence with him stated that
his policy was at the time Of little
value and advised him to hold it no
longer, but to sell it. They considered
1t worth SIS in paid-up insurance.
The party whose letter was received
by Mr.. Dearth yesterday stated that
he was suspicious Of the way is which
the company had treated his brothers
policy, and asked If the company was
solvent.
Mr.. Dearth stated that he was at
loss to know just how to answer these
that the company had perfect right
to buy up its paid-up policies at as
low figure as 1t could.
Every time the company succeeded
in depreciating the value of a paid-up
policy, thereby securing its purchase,
1t just discharged so much Of its La
bilites to the direct benefit Of its Of
fcers.
The procedure of the company had
been after securing the payment Of
premiums by it's policy holders for sew
eral years, to buy back the policy for
mere pittance, and at the same time
write no new insurance.
The officers of the company, in
stead Of representing that the COM
.pany was backed by large reserve
fund, Led policy holders to believe that
nothing further would be received from
the company, either on endowment of
regular life policies. The holder be-
coming alarmed at the supposedly
shaky condition of the company would
sell his policy for almost any cash
consideration.
In this way the policy holder lost
the premiums which he might have
paid to the company since the 1nsur-
arce was first written.
Mr.. Dearth showed Globe re-
porter g. large stack Of letters from
people all over the United States maxi
ing inquiries as to the condition of the
company. One man said he sold q
policy to the company recently for $50
on which he had paid $500 premiums.