The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-02
MANY PEOPLE SCHEME TO
 BEAT THE INSURANCE cos

I out upon a furnished house. the greater part being for two valuable pictures, genuine old masters. A few months later a fire occurred. and among the debris were found the picture frames with some eharred shreds of canvas still adherinE. Unimpeachable evidence was forthcoming that the paintings had been in the house at the time of the outbreak and the claim was paid. Some time afterward. however, identical pictures were sold at auction in America, and although their owner was never caught, his trick was unveiled. It appeared that no sooner had he effected the insurance that he man. aged to get clever copies of his pictures painted which. in the old frames. passed muster as the originals to the inexpert eyes of those who saw them. The real 1 eanvasses were of course, smuggled safe- ly out of the building long before the fire took place.
 The system of insuring life has been re- sponsibie for a vast amount of crime and police records of all countries contain many terrible cases which I need not re- call, of cold-blooded murders committed for the sake of obtaining insurance money. But apart from these, attempts gre sometimes made to defraud insurance companies in q less reprehensble manner Personation-the insuring of healthy person in the name of a diseased one has often been tried. but I doubt if many as the following:
 The culprit was a middle-aged widow, who had twin sons strongly resembling one another,s save that one was as weak in constitution as the other was robust. No doubt this fact suggested the whole scheme. She insured the healthy youth, under his brothers name in several com panies, of course securing the premiums, since the young man passed the doc tors with flying colors Then she sent him abroad, and with the other son went to live in a district where she was un- known. The existence of second son was kept strictly secret, and when. after about year, the invalid died the widow was believed to be childless. No doubt the plot would have succeeded but for the certificate of death, which gave con- sumption dS lHe cause. InlSf III N1eW or their own doctors report seemed so in- credible that one of the interested com panies set a detective to work with the result that the whole conspiracy was brought to light.
 Cases where clothes have been found on the bank of a river or the seashore, ac- companied by the complete disappearance of the wearer. are not uncommon, but the fact that nearly all companies refuse to settle any such claims until seven years have elapsed, unless absolute proof of death Is forthcoming rather initiates against fraud being attempted in this way Suicide. save in special instances invalidates a policy, but men occasional ly destroy themselves in the apparent hope that their relatives will benefit by the act With regard to assurance against accident, examples of standardization and injuries purposely caused constantly crop up Men out of work have been known to deliberately break bone in order to qualify for compensation, and as. for one case detected, it would be safe to assume that two at least go undiscovered you can see for yourself that assurance com panies must be robbed of a considerable sum every year