The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-01-29

nOld surplus fundS TO meet emergencies
that may arise which cannot be forcscen.
Surplus Is Needed.
| wish to say that the policy OF writ
Ing deferred dividends WAS entered into
by the American Life Insurance com
panics for the very purpose OF accumu-
luting this surplus TO strengthen the com
panies. and thereby protect the policy
holder and this form Of a policy has
certainly met with approval of the pub
lie for the reason that since the deferred
dividend policy was placed upon the mar
ket the amount of insurance sold has
greatly increased. And ] will state furth-
policies write most OF the business done
in the United States. This shows that
this form of a policy meets with public
approval.
Offers Illustration.
To illustrate: The hve leading COM
| panleS that nave been paying out their
surplus earnings from year to year in the
form of annual dividends had in force In
! 1898 Ni3 10000 OF insurance, ana on inc
1st day OF last January had only S99S CO.,
Geo In force. showing an increase in thiT-
ty-scven years Of $552o00,CO0. while four
deferred dividend companies had In force
in 1868 S352. COO coo, and on January LIST had
the gigantic sum Of S5I79, 10000. or an In,
crease of 50 400, 10000 during thirty-seYen
years; OF. In round numbers ten times
greater than the Increase of the five an
nual dividend companies. j give this In
formation because j thought possibly
some OF you would not have access TO the
same, and seeing so mUCn criIlClSm IN
the press on deferred dividend policies
II viii be worth something TO you TO know
the real facts as they exist.
Does Not Cost Too Much.
We often hear people say that life In
suTance costs too much. Some OF our
shrewdcst and best business men often
make this statement. and We also hear
statements to the effect that life insur-
ance in the United States costs moro than
II does in foreign countries. but what are
-, In, . Ia 90 T,ra IL
um OF a whole life policy In siXty-nine
English companies is $500 per $1,000; of
the leading French companies, 5000. an
average of the 20 German companies S28,6
while the average premium Of the leading
! American life insuranCeS companies ls
| S2S.44, being less than the average Of
| either the English, French or German
| companies.
The necessity for safety in life inRur
| ance requires that a premium somewhat
| larger than is supposed TO be absolutely
| necessary is charged for life insurance,
| for the reason thnt IL runs over a longer
! period Of years. and no one can look into
! the future with certainty and determine
! just what the conditions Will be.
Gets Back Surplus.
! For instance. what fire insurance com
! puny would be willing to Ak n uniform
rate that would be charged for the next
| twenty-five or fifty years? That is what
| the life insurance companies by their con-
| tracts must do. What manufacturer or
! 10 agree upon permanent rate for
| commodity, or as q carrying charge for
| the next ten or fifteen years. In life in
| surunCe a rate Is charged. which expert
! ence has taught to be adequate. and the
| savings are returned TO policy holders in
| what Is known as dividends so that In
| the end they get insurance for the abso-
| Lutte cost, and the company conducts It's
| business on n plan that may be regarded
as safe rs human ingenuity can devise.
Assessment Companies Fail.
II Is well known that thousands OF as
| sCssment companies have started In this
country during the past twenty-five years
| with a view to furnishing life insurance
| for about one-half what II costs the reg
| ular companies. All that exists of the
! most Of them is memory and this is
the result that usually follows when
! somebody undertakes to furnish an ar
| ticle for less than 1t costs.
Duty to Give Facts.
| have made the above explanation and
| dcfcnses, because | believe II is our duty
| 10 give the facts, 80 that we will not be
! misled by the criticisms and discussion
| that appear in the press and otherwise,
! ond that are likely 10 continue for some
! time and we, as officers. directors and
/ solicitors OF this new Western company.
! should be ever on the alert to defend that
! which Is good In all life insurance COM
! panies. as well as TO avoid that which Is
! not desirable.
! I shall now devote a few remarks to the
| company In which we are all Interested,
! the Continental Life Insurance and In
! yestmcnt company
Reason for Organization.
There should be motive back Of any
! great enterprise Why organize another
| life insurance company? was the question
] which often asked myself. and was often
asked Of me when the preliminary work
/ WAS being done In the way OF getting sub
! scriptions TO the capital stock OF the COM
! pany and discussing It's plans of organza-
! tion. Certainly the field was already COW
! cred by many excellent companies organ
! lied I'm the East and some few smaller
| ones In the Middle West and the coast
| and solicitors for these companies were
and are TO be found in every nook and
| corner OF every Western State and Ter
rtory. The reasons we gave to the public
| for organizing this company were mainly
| two to-w!t:
Field in the West.
First-From an economic standpoint. the
| West. including the mountain and Pacific
| States, should have one large life lnsur-
| anCe company that would furnish as
! good, II not better, Insurance contracts TO
| the public and instead OF sending prem
| iums collected for such insurance to the
| money ccntCrs of the East they would be
| invested in securities here at home,
Effect of Criticism.
think the recent criticism which has
| had the most telling effect is the one
which states that the New York com
| panics are too largc-too unwicldy-that
! their business has become OF such mag
| nitudc that Il IL almost Impossible for
| any set OF officers 10 give personal ntten-
| ticn To its details and to keep Its funds
| carefully invested in the best class OF
! securities. Also thot the accumulation OF
| such u vast amount Of money. n large
| portion Of which must always be held In
| n cash reserve affords temptation for
| speculation. In fact. we believe that all
| the abuses which have recently been dis
! closed are the result of these conditions
| one familiar with the financial and the
| insurance press of the country cannot fnll
! TO notice that the newer and smaller com
| panieS are being given more consideration
and the public Is advised that bettcr re-
| turns can be secured on policies in these
! companies than I'm the older and larger
ones which have amassed such vast
! amounts of money and business details
Keep Money West.
Our presentation then to the public was
| along the line that II was not necessary
| that insnrancc company be estab-
| lished in New York city, Chicago. Bos-
ton or ST Louis, In order to insure It's
| success and safety. and that it was not