The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-18

We or Convinced that the public was snamoured Of sndowmsnts Our m
Endowment tables Increasing Life and Endowment policies and Twenty
year Endowments forming a very large proportion. in some years over 20
per cent? Of our total business One disadvantage Of this table has been
that it largely increased the reserve. Our chldrens Increasing Life and
Endowment policies have been endowments payable after periods of a.
years and upwards according to age at issue. Compared with the Whole
Life tables issued by other companies these have made necessary the O.
ing persons Gomez o the conclusion that this piles up the vsdkh Of the Com
pany, forgetting that along with the increase of assets runs the increase
ksnt down mr. .nrnlus, q sbont tsn nrc can q NM ssssts NV annual ds.
tibutions of the excess Of surplus earned to the policy-holders who con
tibuted to it. Public opinion has changed and nov cares more for death
benefits than endownents. We sreh business to please the public. We
have a good deal of evidence that Ordinary Life and Limited Payment Life
contracts III thought preferable to Endowments. We have resolved
therefore to discontinue our Increasing Life and Endowment policies,
which we're designed to meet the public demand formerly existing, and
which were, we believe, the first tables ever really scientifically constructed
for Industrial policies Our new Industrial policies will therefore be Whole
Life contracts. But W e think that a TO these there are signs of a belief
on the part of the public that payment of premiums ought to cease with
old age. 1t Is hard for people to see what TO any mathematician is self
evident, that tin life insurance the companies are enabled to pay the policies
in full on lives OF those who die soon after insurance only by the receipt Of
premiums from those n " and beyond ther expectations; n tha
the apparent hardship upon those who live long is only the contribution
to the unfortunate which is the essential basis of life insurance. How
ever, it is possible Of course TO make tables for limited payments, and the
problem is therefore to fix an age that shall not be 80 young a sto raise the
premiums or (what is the same in Industrial insurance where the unit is
duIv. and on the other hand To fix the o % q old that the benefits Of
the limits of payment of premium shall be lost. We have fixed age rs a
the limit Of payment Of premiums because at that age W n enabled to
only slightly reduce the benefits during life and because we have not re-
cdved many complaints of the necessity of paying premiums up to that
age. And to the occasional complaint that people never live to such old
age" we may answer that in 1905 W e shall have voluntarily. as matter of
grace, paid about 27OO claims al Endouments on policies issued a Whole
Lfs on persons reaching age so after paying premiums for Is years or over.
Constructing a table OF benefits upon these four principles-Whobe
Life instead Of Endowments; our recent mortality experience instead Of
our old; a loading propotioned to reduced expenses; and the payment
of premiums ceasing after age 75-we shall put forth for 1907 new tables
in the Industrial department which are better than any company has here
tofore issued and better than we have ever before this felt 1t safe to issue.
The most striking change is in the Infantile table, because there we
substitute Life tables with payment OF premiums limited to age rs for or
comparatively short Increasing Endowment tables now in use; and are
therefore enabled to pay in benefits what we have been compelled to hold
as reserve liability upon the endowment features.
Our new Lnfdntle tables TH pay nearly Is much in death benefits for
dUeekly premium Of five cents as De have heretofore paid for weekly premium
of ten cents. 1t is Of course understood that the law Axes a maximum OF
benefits payable upon children and this we cannot exceed. We have there
fore increased the benefits at the later ages for persistence. Thus at age
twoat entry the benefit in case odeath at age nine is SIS, while the benefit
at age three at entry dying at age nine is $3.50, and the benefit at age four
at entry dying at age nine is sIo5, and 50 on. This is a recognition Of the
additional years for which premiums have been paid by those entering at
earherages when death occursa at the sameage. Nfonowsfr from this large in
creased of benefits for five cents that hereafter no policy will be issued under
the Infantie tables for a total premium Of more than five cents. HAnd to
meet a desire for less insurance, especially IN large families, we have atable
with proporionate benefits for a weekly premium Of three cents.
Our Aduh tables shon a n increase OF benefits for the same premium based
strictly upon our tables Of mortality. At age ten the increase s i2h per
cent over our present Life table and nearly Is per cent. over our Increasing
Life and Endowment table. At age 20 the increase is over nine per cent.
and over IS per cent. respectively at age 80 the tncreass is nearly six per