The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-25
MUTU.AL'S RECORDS LOST.
San Francisco Disaster Adds to Life Insur.
ance Companies Troubles.

dnce companies TROUBLES.
The Mutual Life Insurance Company is
up against a hard proposition as a result
OF the destruction Of its building by fire in
San Francisco. The San Francisco agency
covers the northern half Of California, the
State of Nevada and the Hawaiian Islands.
1t represents $50, 900, 900 Of insurance and
about 1900 policyholders. The only re-
vised list with late addresses Of these policy
holders was in the San Francisco building
and has presumably been destroyed.
The actuarial department of the home
office deals with the policies entirely by
numbers. The company has al ~antiquated
list Of the contract holders. but this was
never kept up, and for accurate addresses
of the policyholders the company has de.
pended upon its agency offices.
Recently every possible effort has been
made to perfect the list in the home office,
and requests nave been sent out to the
branch Offices for revised records. One Of
these requests had been sent to the San
Francisco agency.
Officers at the home Office received a tele-
gram from ". H. Hathaway, manager of
the San Francisco Office. on April II saying
that the list had been completed and that it
would be mailed the next day: Before
IL WIS ClIIle 10 open VIC Ddll ltLlNLcNo olAiNS
the next morning the earthquake had
struck the city, and it is supposed hat the
new list, together with the original records,
went up in smoke and flames. =,
If this happened, it will be a physical
impossibility for the Mutual management
to file with the State Superintendent of
Insurance a complete list OF its ~policyhold-
ers with their addresses, as required by
the new Armstrong committee bill: The
bill, which has already passed the Senate,
A. H.. - ~ GllA rDtfh n
State Superintendent by June Is. II the
San Francisco records are gone, it will
probably be necessary to try to
cate with eacy p~olicyholder in the territory
/ covered by the San Francisco agency. and
in some cases TO send out tracers to locate
~policyholders who nave changed their adj
dresses since their names we're entered
/ on the old file in the home Office.
The Mutual officers haven't beer, able
to get into communication yet with the
to their representative at San Jose, Sacra-
to San Francisco, find the mutual Life
| employees if possible and inform the com
pany in regard to the condition OF the
Mutual's property There II Is i red IN nope Pc
building. The Los Angeles manager has
| sent word that he has heard that the build
ing was completely destroyed. The build
ing, exclusive of the land, WAS valued at
about 5000 900. ,
1t was learned yesterday that the Mutual
LIES committee, oil the day when the San
Francisco calamity began, voted to extend
sixty days grace to all ~policyholders in
the district in the payment of their prem
iums. This is, Of course, to be in effect
only for a limited period. -,
The Mutual's board of trustees will hold
its regular monthly meeting to-day. The
Trnesdale investigating committee ls at
work on its final report and a special meet
ing will be held, probably in about a week,
IN consider IL.