The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-02-25
A BIG INSURANCE
STATEMENT
LIVING FIGURES IN THE ANNUAL
STATEMENT OF THE METRO
PoLITAN LIFE.

The yearly compilation Of statistics
published by the Metropolitan Life In
surance Company is never dry read
ing. A summary of that Company s
business for the year 1905, just issued,
tabulates astounding figures In the
concise manner approved by account
ants, and following the custom OF Tor
mer years, supplements them with
clear and lucid analysis for the benent
of people who are not accountants.
Few persons are sufficiently fami-
liar with great financial operations TO
grasp Immediately the full fsignf'
canoe of a balance sheet in which to-
tails and grand totals are expressed
in hundreds of millions but the pur-
pose Of a Life Insurance statement
is doubtless to inform and enlighten
its multitude Of pOlicy-holders and
this purpose the Metropolitan man
aegement accomplishss with signal sue
cess. Following closely upon a per-
iod of agitation in the life insurance
field such a statement is timely and
specially interesting.
After placing before US a compre-
hensive statement of the Company
general condition, and presenting a
series of comparative items, the Met
ropolitan reminds US again that the
number OF its pOlicy-holders (now in
creased TO more than eight and a
half million) equals the combined pop
ulation Of our eight largest cities. In
other words, if the Company's policies
now in force, were all placed in New
York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston,
St Louis. Cleveland, Cincinnati and
Milwaukee, every man, woman and
child in these communities would pos
sess one.
Men now living remember when the
whole United States could hardly
have supplied so vast a number of in
surable persons. Even at this day
there are twentyfour states and terri
tories whose combined population
does not equal the number Of people
carrying insurance in this one great
company.
We are informed that nineteen
thousand persons were in the Com
pany's service at the end of 1905. If
one adult bread7winner represents five
individuals in the total population,
we must conclude that nearly a hun
dred thousand persons draw subsis-
tence from this institutiOn-not in in
surance benefits, but in direct pay
ment for service to the Company.
This army of nineteen thousand en-
ployees evidently includes no drones.
During the year just closed it han
died a daily average Of one and half
million dollars in new business alone.
The Company issued on the average
nearly seven thousand new policies
every business day during the same
twelve months
A single item Which illustrates
graphically the real meaning and pur-
pose OF all this tremendous business
Is that relating to insurance claims
during the year. These amounted to-
more than S15,O0O.OOO. This means
that some one received from the Met
ropolitan Life in benefits one hundred
and six dollars every minute Of every
business day Of eight hours through
out the year.
Again, the uncertainty Of life and
health, and the universal need of life
insurance are most impressively EN-.
phasiZed in the statement that 15148
policies paid within the year 1905 had
been in force less than twelve months
and that 1926 of these policies were
paid In less than three months from
the time they were issued.
The Metropolitan Life began the
year 1906 with assets Of more than
one hundred and fifty million dollars.
showing an increase of more than
tWenty-three million dollars over the
preceding. twelve months. This evil
dence Of ample and increasing
strength is a most satisfactory thing
for policy-holders to contemplate. and
IT is further cause for satisfaction
that the largest years business in
the Company's history was transacted
at lower ratio Of expense than has
ever been reached in previous years.
The Company directs particular at.
tention to the fact that it does not
issue Tontine, or deferred dividend
! policies, nor any form Of contract
which fails to specify in exact terms
what the insured is to pay in prem
iuEns and what he is to receive in ben
ehts, That the simplicity of its con-
heterogeneous is a popular feature
will not be questioned in the light of
facts above noted.
Many items in the Company's sum.
mary have not been touched upon for
lack OF space, but the document it.
self will be widely circulated, and
ones time can hardly be utilized to
better purpose than in the careful and
reflective reading of its entire con