The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-22
INSURANCE NEWS AND
NOTES

derwriters are hoping will have arrived and
the public would be greatly profited.
XXX
One or two Lloyds insurance COM
panies per week was the record in Chicago
less than year ago. Now the reaction has
set in, and it appears that one or two fall
ures per week will soon be the record. A
Lloyds is simply association or agree
ment among ten or twenty men called UNI
derwriters to pay losses which may arise
on policies issued by the company in return
Tor chance to share in the profits which
may be derived from premiums. All goes
well While the concerns operations consist
chiefly in the handling OF premiums, but
after a time the loss element becomes the
most prominent factor in the venture, for
naturally such fiimsy institutions are not
able to- compete with strong, legitimate
companies for the best business. but must
take what they can get, and the collapse
comes. When disappointed claimants at
tempt to collect on their losses through a
receiver the extreme ephemerality of Chi
cago Lloyds underwater becomes evident.
loophole of escape is generally found, or
the cost of collecting from each individual
through expensive court processes is so
great that the claimants usually give up in
disgust in the settlement of the stranded
Cook County Fire Lloyds and the Illinois
Fire Underwriters, however, one of the I'M
derwriters, j. G. Fyffe, is disregarding all
precedents and settling all his obligations
in full as they are presented: But he is
only one of the ten underwriters in the
concern, and the other nine are not troubled
with like tender consciences.
The business of Indiana companies for
the first six months of 1868 in the home
State, as shown by Rough Notes, is fol-
lows:
Pre-, Losses,
mo. mo.
Federal Union Surety Co,
indianapolis ............... .s21, 1895 $27os1
German Fire, Indianapolis 53,S60.20 6,65S. As
Ind. and Ohio Live Stock
Co, Crawfordsville $500. H,11S.12 4,A1.OO
Indianapolis Fire ........ 40,093.64 10, "a
Indpis. German Mutual..... 3,77S.90 S2l.39
Liberal Life. Anderson. Is, 470.4S 1,0OOVO
Meridian Life and Trust,
Indianapolis ............... "a, 5S2.2l 100000
Reserve Loan Life, Indian
apoilS ....................... @,oyi.St Z5,Wu.W
State Life, Indianapolis. 1885, 2.65 2S.50OO0
In addition TO those heretofore published
in these columns the following companies
have reported premiums and losses in In
diana during the first six months of 1893:
Fire Companies of Other States
Pre-. Losses. Taxes.
more .......... se,67ss4 s1.sHe4 s142o2
Girard F. and NJ,
Philadelphia - j, 1913 li,2loi5 :. o;;,;
Hrtfd Fire. Conn. 1SS, 44510 Sl,S0S17 3,2l4lI
Natl, Hartford. 44,aol.l4 2l,466l5 $500
Ohio Farmers, LIE
,1 RSy : Newk ISIS '2s st i issSs
London Assurance,
England 12,SS0IO 3,O29H 2yo53
Life Companies of Other States
Soc, N ". 1916, 1881 s5O,724.4s s6.1sO.s6
Met, n. Y.........4 90, 1882 S4,4O6.55 H,1I3.W
State Nut, Mass. H,SO5.M 4Alo
Royal Union Nut,
Iowa .............. 2,io4.5o ........' oZ'of
Xxx
81
Wisconsin, now general agent Of the Union
Central Life in New York city, is recog-
nized as the originator of the effort in Wis
consin to force mutual life insurance COM
panies to distribute their surplus accumu-
latiCns. AS stated before in these columns
the test is to be made i'm the courts and
the results will be tar-reaching. Mr.
Fricke has issued letter upholding the
decision of the present commissioner that
the distribution must be made. He says
that life insurance companies are not saw
ings banks and that the Wisconsin law
says distinctly they must not do a bank
ing business. The dividends, so-called, he
says, are simply the return of the over
charge i'm premiums. He continues:
THE average policy of life insurance car
red in this country is less than s., 800, and
the annual saving of the premium (sulplus)
applied i'm the reduction of the next premium
or added to the policy additional in
surance, would constitute quite factor to
Inc great majority WHO carry
ance.
IF the surplus now carried were applied
to the purchase of additional insurance it
would add more than $500 100000 to the poll
cies now carried, while under present meth
DDS of accumulation nearly every dollar of
this fund is subject to confiscation in the
event of contingencies beyond the control
of the insured-death financial embar-
raSsment
THE decision of Commissioner Host, if
sustained by the courts, as | hope il will
be- involves nothing more than to compel
a short period accounting to the members
who compose and own these mutual
insurance corporations. 1t can injure no
company, for the funds they will be COM
PEELED to account for is the sum of their as
sets over and above all liabilities not
quired for the conduct OF the business or 10
is cited. that of one of the large companies,
which pays it's agents commissions of So TO
% per cent of the first years premium for
writing twenty-year deferred dividend poll
cieS and only 10 per cent. for annual divi-
dend contracts, the difference in the inter-
est of the policy holder can readily be ap-
preciated.
when the competition between COM
panies is compelled to resolve itself i'm an
effort to show the best results for the pol
icy holders then life insurance will be con-
Quoted on proper basis and the policy
holder will receive his protection at actual
cost without impairing the security.
mo question raised In the last forty
years has created such widespread interest,
and none if settled along the lines of the
commissioners decision, could become of
greater benefit TO the policy holders