Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-02-10
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Com
pany.

For the information of its army OF
lpolicy holders, the Metropolitan Life
Insurance company of New York has
issued a statement of its standing al
the end of the year 1908 The facts
set forth show that this great insur
lance organization continues to carry
more policies and TO distribute greater
benefits among the whole people than
any other like institution, while its
own resources gain steadily in proper
ratio 10 its increasing volume of bus
mess.
The magnitude of the cOmpany's op-
ierations is astounding. To fully under.
stand the meaning of the figures deal
ing in totals for the year, it is neces-
sary to bring them down to the small.
est division of time. For example, the
mind can scarcely comprehend the sig.
lnificance of the statement that the to.
| tai amount of outstanding policies at
the end of the year was $1,S61 500, S03,
but we can easily grasp the no less as
ltonishing fact that during the business
hours of every day in the year an av-
erage of G.343 new policies were issued
and paid for. Every day-taking the
average for the year-441 persons re-
ceived from the company the full value
in cash of policies which had been car
ried for their benefit. Every day the
company paid out to its policy holders
and added to the policy paying fund
preserve fund) more than $166, 0O0.
The value of property owned and ac-
CURED by the Metropolitan Life during
1908 increased at the rate of $4,000
per day. A policy holder of the COM
pany dies every six minutes, and the
company pays during business hours a
death claim on the average every 81
seconds
The company owns nearly one hun
dred million dollars worth of United
States bonds, city bonds, and railroad
bonds and stocks; more than ninety
millions of bonds and mortgages; more
than twenty-five millions of real es-
tate, and much other tangible prop
erty, all held as assets available for
the payment of it's obligations. Nearly
ten million policies $780, 06) are car.
ried by individuals in the Metropolitan
Life. If these policy holders were gath
cred into one community, they would
constitute city of more than the COM
bined population of the twelve largest
cities in the United States.
Perhaps nothing brought out in this
report is more wonderful to contem-
plate than the fact that one force of
executive officers and office employees
transact business of this complica-
ted nature with so vast number of
people.
1t is obvious that the Metropolitan
Life is managed and controlled by men
OF consummate ability, but so are
thousands of business organizations
that never approach this company in
magnitude of operations. 1t is not
merely executive ability, but the abil-
lty to inspire and hold public conf
dence that has counted most i'm build
ing up this greatest of all insurance
companies. The Metropolitan Life
deals directly with the people. It's
policy from the beginning has been
one of entire frankness with the peo-
pie. No man, however unused to the
making of business contracts, can fail
to understand exactly what are the
terms of his contract with the Metro
politan Life. Every promise of the
company is set down in terms as def
Mite and clear as the English language
permits; every obligation of the policy
holder to the company is equally plain
No inflated premiums are collected for
estimated benefits; every payment to
the company represents the lowest cost
OF bona fide insurance.
Instead of leading its policy holders
to hope for more than they eventually
receive, the company has voluntarily
taken directly opposite course. With
in the past few years ii has distributed
sums amounting to nearly eighteen
millions of dollars among its policy
holders in bonuses in addition to what
the policies promised. This has been
done under no other obligation than a
moral conviction that the company
should share its prosperity with those
who contribute toward its success
The confidence and good will secured
under this enlightened policy account
for the fact that for fifteen consecu.
tive years, including 1908, the Metro.
fn
business than any other insurance com