New-York tribune., 1908-01-23
LIKE KELSEY'S REPORT.
Insurance Men Want the NeI0 LG7cs
Modified.

Insurance men expressed themselves as pleased
with the annual report Of the Insurance Depart
naent which was made public yesterday. Faul
Morton. president of the Equitable Life Insurance
COMPANY said that he had not had time 10 so
over the report carefully. but that he thought what
he had seen of l. was good.
'T think there should be some amendment OF the
insurance laws" said he, hut prefer to discuss
the subject OF new insurance legislation with GOV
eruor Hughes II l believe there Is necessity Tor
certain legislation viii 90 70 him with my views
James McKeeu. counsel for the Mutual Life In
surance Company and associate OF Governor
Hughes in the Armstrong investigation, said OF me
report: u consider it excellent one on the whole
and an interesting one well, but dllfer WIN
Mr.. Kelsey point He has fallen INTO d
common and grave error IN recommending mat
companies be required 10 give statement OF &C
count every deferred dividend or tontlne Polic9
holder There is no objection 10 requiring state
rneut 10 be made Of the entire amount that ought
70 be reserved for deferred dividend poIcyholders
as an entire class. II Is impossible 10 give any
individual poIicyholder Of this class statement
Of any individual interest in these deferred divi
deDds You cannot even state the amount he Will
get in any contingency. He will get nothing at all
unless he survives the stipulated period Nhat ne
viii get f he 50 survives cannot now be deter
mined.
Archibald c. HAYNES president OF the Mutual Re
serve Life Insurance Company. who Is a strong
advocate Of revision Of the insurance laws, said;
The figures dealt with by the Superintendent OF
ms
Of New York life COMPANIES are calculated TO I'M
r7ress any one as 70 the unfavorable effect OF at
least some Of the new insurance laws believe
II j. not TOO soon for the Legislature 10 consider
seriously the advisability Of modifying them and
a,,7ntasfze the Importance OF placing the New
York life insurance companies in position TO com
r7ere for new business with companies OF other
states
Henry Moir, actuary OF the ProVident Savings
Life Assurance Society, said ne had not gone over
E7e -,.-rs he had soc L.
r7ressed him as being unusually good
Darwin 2. kingsley president Of the New York
Tifa said. nv claim that the reforms IN life in
syrance wrought by the so-caled Armstrong legis-
Ia-io were likely to be discredi-ed and to some eX-
tent destroyed 10y its unnecessarily radical charac-
Ter and the dangerous principles involved IN 1t is
of7claIIv confirmed by the report which Superln-
tendent Kelsey has just fled with the Legislature
at Albany Mr.. Kelsey is extremely conservative
In his statement. For example he nowhere spe-
cidcalv shows that the companies Of New York
state ind themselves the end Of the year with
a 7ar loss IN outstanding insurance amounting to
.70- n00 900 They lost about $l50.e0o.oo0 IN l9oa
TbAv have lost s255 coo .o00 in two years.
No good life insurance man wants anything
done "a the laws which viii permit extravaganza.
mr. every good Iife insurance man wants vicious
and dangerous principles eliminated from the laws
and wants the companies OF New York to regain
their oldtine primacy.