The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-12
Should Get In Honestly.

Should Get in Honestly.
1T is not enough that an insurance
company shoulu care for policy holders
money honestly; it should be made to
get 1t honestly. or go out of business.
Mr.. Rittenhouse, insurance commits
sioner of Colorado, who has done such
splendid service in the cause of safe and
sane insurance, has published some fig
ureS taken from a book of printed eSti
mates of future profits used to get bust
ness in this and other states. The esti-
mated profits on the agency stock, and
the earnings of the insurance company at
ages from % TO 30 on $1,000 on various
twenty-year plans Of insurance.
Age %
Total premiums ........ .........S So SIS 90
Agency stock dividends ....... secs, 90
Net premium or total cost of
Cash surrender value estimated by
Insurance company at the end of
period ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IS, 10000
Profit 49,. ..........................s IS. O5O.OO
Or 1920 per cent
Does that sound honest?
Evil of System.
| with this kind of work going on
around you by agents receiving large
commissions l, such such as conservative com
der that you are Outstripped in the race
| for business. One of the insurance jour
| mails reports that a single agent for one
of these companies in Salt Lake City
wrote S24l 600 in the month of September,
/ 1907. How many of you would be glad
! to write that amount in year? By these
methods the entire business OF life in
surance is injured, the confidence of the
general public is destroyed and count
/ less widows and orphans, who would
otherwise have been benefited through
| its beneficent influence, will suffer I'M
/ told privation and misery. It~Dlaces the
| honest insurance agent, representing an
| honest company and presenting to the
| public a reasonable plan of insurance with
a reasonable premium and q reasonable
| promise of results at a great disadvan-
| tage. 1t is high time to call a halt.
IN Section 49, Revised Statutes, we
find sufficient law to answer the purpose.
and if any company objects. let it appeal
to the courts for redress These schemes
are not only hurtful to the insuring pub
lie and TO the agent. but they are also
| injurious to the company which writes
them.
License Renewal Refused.
THE following letter has been sent to
all companies engaged in this kind of
business:
80 The insurance department of this
state has reached point in investigating
the matter of advisory board contracts,
special income contracts and stock agency
schemes, so that it viii require from all
| insurance companies who make appllca-
ton for our license for the year 1908
certificate signed by the president and
| secretary of the company to the effect
/ IlaL the company pledSeS llSeH TO re-
| frain from writing any advisory board
contracts, specia! income contracts, or to
engage in any stock schemes of any
/ character or offer any other special in
ducement in the sale of life insurance in
this state, and no company which does
not furnish such a certificate will have
its license renewed for the year 1908.
After such license has been granted, if
il shall be discovered that the company
has engaged in that kind of business,
such fact when esta blished, will be suf-
company's license to do business within
the state
Assistance Is Asked.
Eve are unalterably opposed 10 the
admission of any new company that Is
even suspected of any such devices
against our people; in short the insur-
ance department assures the Life I'm
derwriters' association that we are in this
fight to the finish, and we ask of you
all the information you can furnish to
assist in compelling the result so de-
voutly to be wished.
Matter of Valuations.
"A subject which has been under care
full consideration by the insurance de-
partments of all the states has been the
subject of valuations. 1t is well under
stood that there has been a great shrink
age in the market price of all stocks and
bonds of the character which are held
for investment by insurance companies,
during the last twelve months and If
the market quotations at the close of
business Dec. 81, 1907 should be taken
as the basis of valuation for these Sc
eurities many companies would close the
year with impaired capital Notwith-
standing the fact that these securities
have shrunken in market price, they are
still producing the same dividends that
they were a year ago and all agree that
they are worth far more than the quoted
prices How to reach q basis of valu-
alton which would be fair and just 20
all companies has been the problem. On
the 18th and 18th of December a confer
ence of insurance commissioners was held
at Louisville, Ky, where the matter was
discussed fully and as result Of the de-
nberations of that conference the fol-
lowing resolutions were adopted
Resolution of Agreement.
TT is the sense of this meeting of in
surance commissioners that state depart
ments. in determining the valuation of
securities included i'm the financial state
ments of insgrance corporations may as
certain the real market value by taking
the mean of market prices on the LIST day
of each month and the Slst day of De
cember in the year 1907, and computing
therefrom the average value for the year
by dividing the aggregate of said
amounts by thirteen; provided, that in
any particular case where exceptional
facts warrant a departure from this rule
IL shall not apply.
g Resolved, That a committee of seven
commissioners. in addition to the chair
man, be appointed at once as a commit
tee on valuation of securities for 1907,
and that said committee shall be en-
powered TO employ expert appraisers TO
make I'D a list of such securities held by
insurance companies as they may deem
necessary, with statement of the market
value of each, and report the same TO
such commissioners as may request it,
as early as practicable after Jan. ]. |
$685.
1T seems to me to be only fair to
take q stock which is paving the same
dividend in 1907 as II paid in 1896 and
accept as its value for the purpose of
making an annual statement the aver
age price of the stock during the sew
eraI months of the year, and this de-