Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1899-04-11
INSURANCE IN MAINE.
HERE ARE SOME FIGURES CALCULATED
10 AsToNrsH THE NATIVES.

The great volume of the insurance
business ln the State OF Maine II some
thug that few realize, and Il 10 only BY
the careful study OF the report OF the In
surance commissioner that Il can be
seen. OF course It must be realized BY
ali that with 90 many companies doing
busiuess IN the state, great business
must be done to make living for all the
agents, and the companies themselves.
lt was In conversation with an In
surance expert that the kennebec Jour-
nal learned few OF these surmsses,
Thursday.
ibid you know that the risks written
In the State of Maine, last year, 10 fire,
marine, and life insurance In sll its
forms, was an amount equal to more
than oue-half Of the valusti0n OF the
real estate OF the State of Maine, accord
Ing to state assessors report ?" asked the
expert.
This vas surprise, sure enough, and
the Journal asked for the figures.
srhe amour, Of the risks written In
1898 vas els4, ,5sl ,962 w Of which over
llS millions WAS firc Insurance"
Then suppose you do not know the
amount Of premiums paidr' he con
tinued.
"Well, no, am not aware Of the exact
fisures In that regard" was admitted.
'sThe total amount paid for premiums
during the year 10 all Glasses OF In
surance, was enough to make one man
fairly rich. The sum total was
q. .222, ,762 9S."
This was not all. He had other figures
up his sleeve to spring on the reporter.
"whst do you suppose the people OF
the state received In claims and losses
that were paid forY'
"Dont know" was all the reply that
could be made. j.
"By actual figures they received
q. .O93, ,l36. 40. This would leave 8 good
reserve for the companies and agents, "a
YOU can see the difference between the
premiums and the losses.
Though the companies have been
making money, II can be seen by glanc-
ing at the report that the claims and
losses paid In the fire, marine and mis-
cellaneous companies fully covers the
losses incurred during the year. On the
life insurance part you can beat estimate
whether some OF the men whose lives
have been paid for, have been bought for
their real value.
oThe amount Of Insurance written
during the year." he continued merci-
lessiy, "would be equal to $1,000 for every
man over q years Of age In the state.
This would not necessarily be for life
insurance, but for all classes.
"Now do not thiok that this IL all the
insurance held Ia the state for IL is not.
The report does not give the total
amount held to cover losses by fire as
that would be q very hard thing TO get
at, I suppose; but Il merely covers what
has been done during the year. How
ever, Il does give the amount OF insur-
ance held on life.
"The total number OF policy-holders
on straight life insurance are 90 1873 and
these people are insured for an amount
EQUAL to CSC, COS, ,S47 IL. Then there are
1889 policy holders on the assessment
plan, who hold Oil, COS, ,25l. The amount
Of insurance, or the number OF policy
holders In the frsternal aid beneficiary
associations Il not given In the report,
but II II should be estimated II would be
the greatest surprise yet. Why. do you
know the amount Of insurance held 10
this city by members Of the A. o. U. W.
amounts to over Sl .000, 900? Look sur
prised II you will, but IL Is so: The
number Of members are over 800 and
each man holds 5000 or more OF in-
surauce. Figure that TO suit yourself
and then estimate how much Is held by
all the other frsternsl and beneficiary
associations"