Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-01-29
PRIEST. TYREE SPEAKS
ON LIFE INSUR RANGE.

lnss, live stock, grain fields and other
assets, by fire insurance, or even the
provision OF making deposits Of cash
IN banks for interest earnings A life
insurance company cannot. therefore,
exist without the active solicitor
A writer In recent magazine article
states that 70 conduct the business Of
life insurance successfully, requires
neither energy nor initiative" Prob
ably the most of you, II not all, are
insured ! should like TO have each
one OF you ask yourself II you would
be carrying the policies you now have,
had I, not been for the energy and mi
tiatve OF the agents who secured your
applications, and II must have &C.
Cured TO you that back OF the agents
there was energy 20 help keep Him at
work, and initiative that brought out
the modern contract that you buy to-
day
The work of the life insurance agent
Is high calling, because he "compels'
men 20 provide for their own after they
are dead and gone. know OF no other
work IN which men are now engaged
that is more commendable, and think
there Is no more useful citizen than
the man who gives UP his life ia In
luenclng men 10 do their duties 20 their
families, / speak OF the work OF the
agent from the fact that some critics
or American life insurance companies
state that the English companies do
not solicit insurance, and therefore
conduct their business with less ex-
pensc and with better results TO
the public, wish to emphasize
the fact. that II life Insurance Is
benehcient institution then the more
people that can be induced 10 provide
for the benefits Hereunder the greater
service this institution gives TO human-
ity say emphatically that despite the
mistakes that have been made the
American Life Insurance companies
have been and are the institutions
which have done more good To the
masses of the people Of the United
States, than all other financial organ
izations.
The extent to which life insurance
would be taken without agents may be
inferred in the business of the old
Equitable Assurance Society OF Lon
don, organized in 1862, whose business
was conducted without agents for a
period of li3 years. II has Insurance
at the present time OF about S35. 600 600.
not much more than one OF your small
California companies which has been
Ia existence only five years, and not
any more than the Continental Life
expects 10 have upon its books within
the next two years.
There is another phase OF the sub
ject which | wish TO mention and that
is the criticism by the public Of the
vast amount of assets and the surplus
earnings accumulated by life insur-
ance companies, They forget that the
liabilities increase I'm proportion 10 the
assets, and that surplus in life in
surance company IS absolutely neces-
sary on account of the nature of the
contracts made with policy holders.
These contracts do not mature as n
rule, for term of years. and therefore,
II is essential for the companies to
hold surplus funds to meet emergen-
cies that may arise which cannot be
foreseen.
| wish to say that the policy of writ
ing deferred dividends was enterd into
by the American Life Insurance COM
panies for the very purpose OF accu-
mulating this surplus TO strengthen
the companies. and thereby protect the
policy holder and this form Of policy
has certainly met with approval OF the
public, for the reason that since the
deferred dividend policy was placed
upon the market the amount OF insur-
ance sold has greatly increased And
/ will state further that companies
writing the deferred policies. write
most of the business done In the Unit
ed States, This shows that this form
Of a policy meets with public approval.
To Illustrate: The five leading COM
panles that have been paying out their
surplus earnings from year to year In
the form of annual dividends had i'm
force in 1858 S4i3O00.00O Of insurance.
and on the ist day OF last January had
only $99s,O00.O00 in force. showing an
increased I'm 81 years OF $3.50. 000, 600.
while four deferred dividend companies
had In force in 1858 1852. 600. 900 and
on Jan. l. had the gigantic sum OF So
716,OOO,OOO, or an increase OF 5i00, 000, 900
during 81 years, or in round numbers
ten times greater than the increase OF
the five annual dividend companies.
give this information because thought
possibly some OF you would not have
access TO the same and seeing so much
criticism In the press on deferred divi-
dend policies II viii be worth some
thing to YOU TO know the real facts as
they exist.
We often hear people say that life
insurance costs too much. Some OF
our shrewdest and best business men
OFTEN make this statement, and we also
near statements to the effect that life
insurance in the United States costs
more than It does In foreign countries
but what are the facts In the case?
The average premium of whole life
policy In so English companies is
sZS.O9 per $1,000; Of the leading French
companies $50 10, an average OF the 80
German companies t2S.62. while the
average premium OF the leading Amer
lean life Insurance companies Is S27.4L
being less than the average Of either
the English, French or German COM
panles.
The necessity for safety In life In
surance requires that a premium some
what larger that is supposed to
be absolutely necessary Is charged
for life insurance. for the rea.
son that II runs over long
period Of years aud no one can look
into the future with certainty and de.
termine Just what the conditions WIN
be-
For instance. what fire Insurance
company would be willing
20 fix a uniform rate that would be
charged for the next 20 or 50 years?
That Is what the Life Insurance com.
panies by their contracts must do What
manufactures, or what railroad com
pany would be willing 10 agree upon a
permanent rate for a commodity or as
a carrying charge for the next 10 or
10 years In Life Insurance a rnte Is
charged, which experience has taught
10 be adequate, and the savings are re-.
turned to policy holders IN what IL
known as dividends" so that in th>
end they get Insurance Tor the abso-
lutte cost, and the company conducts its
business on plan that may be regard
ed as safe as human ingenuity can de-
wise
Ii Is well known that thCuaands ~
assessment companies have started In
this country during the past % years.
with view 10 furnishing life insurance
for about one-half what It costs the reg
ular companies. All that exists " tho
most OF them Is q memory, and this "a
the result that usually follows when
somebody undertakes TO furnish an ar
ticle for less than II costs.
] have made the nboVe eXnlenatlnn