Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-08-24
SMALL,
Life Companies
COMMENDED
Pungent Pointers for
Iowa People

lars such company shall no longer be
allowed to employ or pay any persons
as agents. solicitors or brokers, on
commission or on salary" This adj
dress was delivered nearly fifteen
years ago. The people have paid no
heed to these warnings and the assets
of several life Insurance companies
have gone on increasing until now
they are more than double the amount
fixed as the danger limit by this wise
and celebrated actuary
The people should not deceive them
selves in reference to this matter The
basis of the trouble of the great
Equitable is not the deferred divi-
dend FORMS Of policy which it issues;
but because of its enormous accumli-
lations Of hundreds of millions, which
is beyond the scope and ability of
single management to properly care
for and protect What the country
needs more now than anything else is
large number Of small life insurance
companies. Let the life insurance
business of the country be cared for
as the savings banks care for the
money of the wage-earners. by large
number Of medium-sized savings
banks. Fifty millions Of assets is
large enough for one management to
handle and control and to give such
personal care as its Importance de-
mands.
The general public could and should
regulate this matter largely in the
placing of their own life insurance
business, giving their applications to
the smaller companies, thus accom-
nj XIV xI,ien I,,n
the same result which Actuary Fack-
Ter recommended to be accomplished
by law. In this connection might we
not ask with due propriety what is
the matter with the Iowa companies?
| No state in the Union has better law
for the protection of the policyholder
| than Iowa. The funds of the life in
surance companies of Iowa can be in
vested only, first, government bonds,
second, state, municipal, and school
bonds, third, loans on real estate
where the amount loaned shall not ex-
coed SO per cent Of the value of the
land, outside of improvements. fourth,
the loans on it's own policies where
the amount loaned Is less than the
cash surrender value Of such policies.
The reader will observe that there
is no speculative securities here, none
is allowed under the Iowa law The
Iowa law does not rest here in its
protective care of the interest of the
policy holders Of an Iowa company.
The state steps In and takes posses
sion and control of the securities of
an Iowa life insurance company and
holds them in trust for the benefit of
the policy-holder SO that the full policy
! liability Of an Iowa company must be
secured and guaranteed by deposit
with the state Of Iowa Of such securi-
ties as are named herein. and such de-
post shall be an amount to at least
100 per cent Of such liability 50 that
at all times the Iowa company must
have at least 100 per cent of its liabil-
ity in securities on deposit with the
state or Iowa as trustee for the re-
demption Of such liability.
The total deposit with any state de-
partment to protect the vast hundreds
of millions OF liability created by com
panies outside of Iowa does not
amount to 1 per cent Of their policy
liability. The state of Iowa holds at
this time over twenty millions of Sc
curities, which amount is more than
sufficient to guarantee and redeem
every policy contract issued by an
Iowa company. The companies out
| side the state of Iowa, with over bill
lion dollars of liability to their policy
holders have not on deposit with state
departments Tor the protection Of
their policyholders, one-half the
amount which the Iowa companies
have on deposit with the auditor of
the state Of Iowa. Why, then, should
Iowa people hesitate as to what com.
panies are entitled to their confidence
and support? We have full cc-.fidence
in the intelligence of the people of
Iowa.