Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-07-28
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Another New York Insurance
Company Makes Showing Of
Systematic Graft
DELAY is SETTLING CLAIMS
DELAY is SETTLING CLAIMS
Examiners Report Shows This Was
company's Fixed Policy and Also
That it Concealed Judgements
Against the Company Amounting to
Nearly 100000.

of judgments against the company "a
mounting to $1S2,767, eXaggeration of
its surplus by over 100000, and fixed
policy of delay in settling claims, are
some of the charges made against the
Mutual Reserve Life Insurance COM
pany by Chief Examiner Isaac Wander
pool In his report submitted to State
Superintendent of Insurance Hen
bricks, and today made public by him.
The examination was begun last De-
cember and covers a period back to
1899. The company has headquarters
in New York City and claims assets
of between $5,0OO,O0O and s6,000,o00.
Examiner Vanderpool says the man
agement of the company made no
mention of these judgments in the item
of liabilities reported for the year
1904.
"Of the s1s4,913.25 reported by the
company in it's last annual statement
as being due or accrued for salaries,
rents, office expenses, taxes, bills, ac-
counts, etc." says he, "s1s2,767.92 con-
sisted of judgments entered against
this company. l am constrained to be-
Heve that the return of this item after
the manner stated could mot have been
the result of an inadvertence and GER
tainly constituted concealment of
facts sufficient to render the com
pany's sworn statement for 1904 ma
terially Inaccurate
The company's last annual state
ment, says the report. produces So
called surplus of unassigned funds a.
mounting to $359,211.5S. The examina-
ton just completed places this item
at s3s,492.16."
Making due allowance for the time
1t may occupy to thoroughly investi-
gate all questionable death claims"
said the examiner, y think as the re-
suit of this examination it is quite
clearly in evidence that the company
has adopted settled policy of delay in
withholding the approval necessary to
constitute an admission by 1t Of the re-
ceipt Of satisfactory evidence of death
in the case of all claims under policies
or certificates issued while the COM
pany was operating under article six OF
the insurance law. From the date of
such approval ninety days is the speci-
fed time within which payment is to
be made. The average period elapsing
between the filing of proofs of death
which were upon investigation, ultl-
mately found to be valid claims, is SO
lengthy as to properly subject the COM
pany to the severest criticism in It's
treatment Of these beneficiaries, many
Of whom must be subjected to no little
suffering and distress by this seeming
Fly inexcusablei procrastination on the
company's part in the payment OF It's
lust debts to policy holders"
In 1895 the department recommen1-
ed that the company establish sink
ing fund to offset the depreciation OF
leases. The suggestion was adopted
but. says the examiner, "the fund APP
pears to have been abandoned some
time ago. for in ten years it has reach
ed but s56.94S.76. The sum of $42,OOO
has. however, been borrowed from this
fund and is charged to mortuary ac-
count. The balance, therefore, after
the loan to the latter account, reduces
the sinking fund to $14,948.76, instead
Of s165. 900, the amount which now rep
resents 1t under the recommendation
made in 1895 under the appraiser of the
insurance department.
The report alleges that commissions
paid BY the mutual reserve fund fos
securing the membership of the North
western Life Assurance Company OF
Chicago in 1900, "never seem to have
been received by it. The receivers re-
ports since the reinsurance was erect
ed show no revenue from this source.
The commission went to third parties"
Frederick A. Burnham is president
of the Mutual Reserve Life Insurance
company.