Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-09-20
LEE INSURANCE AGENTS.
Regarded as Necessary by an Organ of
the Trade.

the Trade.
New York Weekly Uaderwriter.---
The life insurance perturbations of
this year have been accompanied by an
abundance Of loose talk by half-baked
Ireforners, which has served principal
/ ly to saow their ignorance. One rem
edy proposed for alleged abuses in life
insurance methods in this country is
the abolition Of agents. This, we be-
/ lieve, is one OF Senator Brackets
wonderful ideas. A person described
by the New York Sun as "a life insur-
ance expert also airs it in an inter-
view published in that sheet. Being
asked Where may we turn to find a
better way Of conducting the life in
surance business than in New York?7
he replied
We might turn 10 England, where
the companies 10 not lave solicitors
WHO cat up all the profits and make
life insurance such a costly luxury in
America. IN England, a company is
satisfied TO start in modestly md grow
Gradually and naturally. Il has no am
biti0n to build skyscrapers around its
competitors. Il starts upon safe,
sound ana conservative basis, like a
bank. 1t does reasonable amount of
advertising to let prospective patrons
know where it can be found But it
does not send out an army of solicit
tors, so that it may boast that it has
added $500, 100000 of new business in
a year. The so-called new business
/ that the American insurance COM
panies make such a fuss about obtain
/ ing is always got at loss on account
of tho big commissions that so to the
agents subagents, etc. While the Eng
lish companies do not pile up unneces-
saTy SURPRISES so rapidly as we do in
America, they are not subject to such
great expenses, and the result is that
they sell sound insurance materially
cheaper than we can do in America
According to this expert" the
agency system does not exist in Eng
lana The insurance companies sit
cc.hposedly on their launches behind
/ their desks and the people 10 be in
srred flock to the Offices on their own
initiative. The facts are that of the Sc
regular British life insurance compan.
les transacting business but four are
nonagency companies, the largest of
these being the Equitable life office,
which has taken LAB years 10 accumu-
! late assets about equal to those pos
sessed by the little State mutual of
Worcester. Mass. All the great Brit
/ ish life companies, the Pruden lal,
North British and Mercantile. Scot
! fish proyident, Standard, Gresham.
I Royal. United Kingdom temperance
ana others. not only employ agents but
advertise persistently for them, and
ioffer good commissions.
That The competition between active
companies is not so strenuous there us
mere Use owing to the difference in The
/ temperament Of tne two peoples, and
TO that cause, and also cur larger pop
ulatioR, our greater volume of new bus
mess is due A nonagency Office is
possible in England; ii would starve
/ to death here. Extrdyagapt commits
sions TO agents are an evil TO be cor
rected, but the solicitation of the pub
! lie to take life insurance has been a
stupendous gain to human welfare and
happiness. Millions Of policyholders
would never have taken protection for
their families mad not the advantages
Of life instance. and the duty of the in
d,vidual toward those dependent upon
him through life insurance, been
forced upon their consciences by the
agents. AS for selling life insurance
cheaper in England than here, as the
expert" says is the case. the rates are
practically the same. If they were not
there would be an influx of British TN
dercut offices in this country