Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-02-12
INSURANCE CASE
TO BE CARRIED TO
SUPRE NE COURT
COLUMBIAN NATIONAL LIFE CLAIMS
IT is BEING DEPRIVED OF
PROPERTY ILLEGALLY.
FINES AMOUNT TO S38,5OO.
Decision May Compel Foreign Companies
to Make Individual Statements
to Policy Holders.
EXPLAIN DEFERRED DIVIDENDS.

MADISON, Wis, Feb. ST. Special. i
If the withdrawing froiegn life insurance
companies were compelled today to file re-
ports and pay the penalties as directed
by Judge Z. Ray Stevens opinion in the
case of the state of Wisconsin against
the Columbian National Life Insurance
company of Boston, $3S, 800 would now
be due the state treasury.
Will Appeal Case.
But the Columbian has announced al
ready that it will appeal the case to the
supreme court, and there is a possibility
that it will even so to the federal SUI
preme court, because the companies con-
tend that the statutes which Judge StN-
vens held valid deprive the company of
property without due process OF law
The suit is a test case, brought by tn
state against the company to enforce
the penalty of $500 for failure to file its
report and an additional $500 for every
month thereafter while the company has
any policy in force in the state. These
reports were due March l, last, and at
that time fifteen of the twenty three
withdrawing companies that had policies
in force in Wisconsin filed reports. Eight
failed to file on that day, but three of
these have since acceded to the demand
of the insurance department.
The five companies which have wholly
failed to file statements are: the Federal
Life, Chicago; the Manhattan Life, New
York the Mutual Life, New York, Penn
Mutual Life, Philadelphia; the Security
Mutual Life, Binghampton, N. Y.
Penalty for Delay.
According to the penalty statue, each
of these companies now owes the state
$4,000, or $50, 1000 for the five companies.
The Columbian National, against which
the decision was rendered, filed its
statement July II, 1908, subjecting itself
to a penalty of $500 for delaying. The
National Life of Chicago did not file
itself to penalty of $4,000, and the
Onion Central Life of Cincinnati, after
waiting until August q, filed state
ment, mourning a penalty of $4,000.
None of these penalties, which aggregate
S3S,5OO, has yet been collected.
In addition, the records of the state in
surance department show that many 9th
or companies have filed only part of
their reports. The statements were filed
by the Columbian National, the National
Life, and Union Central, after the ac-
ton against the Columbian National had
been started, and evidently to avoid pos
sibility of additional penalties for furth-
err delay.
Benefit to Policy Holders.
The matter of penalties is significant to
the state, but the real Importance of
Judge Stevens decision, as interpreted
by the adherents Of reform insurance
legislation, lies in the fact that if these
foreign companies can be compelled to
furnish statements to the department
after they have ceased to write new
business in the state, the same reason
ing will require them to furnish state
ments, which the law now requires them
to make, to their policy holders in Wis
consin. The Mutual Life of New York
may thus, under the Wisconsin law, be
compelled to make individual statements
to it's policy holders, and thus to partial
ly account, at least for it's 500 100000
of deferred dividends. The same would
apply to other companies that left the
state rather than make their account
ing" Under the same conditions, the
Union Central and the Germania of New
York may be compelled to declare
whether the stockholders or the policy
holders own their surplus.
The reform insurance laws of Wis
consin to which the companies objected
compel limitation of expenses, require
ment of statement to policy holders with
annual dividends, political contributions,
legislative expenditures, salaries above
$4,000 and annual reports to the COM
missioner SO long as they have policies
in force. While these laws were being
framed eight companies, and later ten
others, joined in a printed statement to
the Legislature declaring that a company
should not continue in business in Wis
ccnsin if the laws prescribe: A maxi
mum limitation of premiums, a method
Of valuation which includes expense fac
tors, and a definite setting aside of Il
specific portion of the premiums in the
several policy years for expense.