The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-26
THE JOB TOO BIG
HENDRICKS DISCUSSES THE ARM
 STRONG REPORT.
state Superintendent Does Not Think His Department should Become
 the Manager of the Insur-
 ance Companies.

Syracuse. N. r., Feb. 25.-Francis Hendricks, State Superintendent of In- surance. tonight issued a statement re- lating. to the recent report of the Arm strong committee of the Legislature with special reference to that portion of the report which criticises' the ad- ministration of the insurance depart ment. He dwells at length on the man. fold duties of his department. which he says is equally charged with the examination and supervision of fire, marine, casualty and credit guaranty corporations, and business, assessment and fraternal beneficiary associations, numbering in all 433
 Outside of routine work" he says, 'the primary duty of the department is a general supervision by examination and otherwise for the purpose of com polling compliance with the statutes regulating the subject of insurance and the preservation of assets, reserve and trust funds in such proportion to lia- bilities as would insure the full dis charge of all obligations to policy hold. CTS whether of life or fire insurance.
 T doubt if it would be wise to inc vest any state official with the power and responsibility of overseeing and administering all of the details of the business management Of insurance
 
 now being claimed he should do. Some of the recommendations of the Arm strong committee and many of the suggestions being made elsewhere. if carried out would make him in effect managing director Of all the insu- rance companies fin the state. In the first place I do not believe that this would be a wise policy. But in the second if it is deemed to be wise 1t must be assumed that there must be an entire reorganization of the insu- rance department giving the superin- tendent increased and adequate supply of force and money to do this.
 We. all know how many months the Armstrong committee with a large force of help and large supplies of | money has taken to investigate the simply larger business matters of prac- tically three insurance companies am informed that the expense for | chartered accountants alone in inves- tigating one of these companies un- der the supervision under one of its own committees has been nearly $780, GOO.
 During the last six years there has been received by the insurance depart ment to meet the expenses of investl- | gatiop and examination of all compa- nies the sum of S221, ,055 and of which | amount $136,560 was available for the | expenses of examining life insurance companies. While 1t is a matter 0! mere estimate, I am sure that 1t would | require an appropriation of from three to four hundred thousand dollars a year for a department to do the things which 1t is now said should have been done by my administration upon an appropriation which for several years has averaged only $4o,o00 per year Notwithstanding all that has been | -kEII fe hak la. ministration of those details of busi. ness which involve ordinary business l honesty and competency must be left | to those directly intrusted with man. l aEement Of insurance companies rather ! than to a State department"