The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-06-04
DEATH CLAIMS PAID
life INSURANCE DISTRIBUTIONS
DURING YEAR 1908.
Benefits Appropriated $3.50, $780, 900;
Organizations Affected By Hard
Times in Business; Payments For
Surrendered Policies Increased; Lap
sationS; Amount of Protection De-
creased; Sum Sent Into Minnesota.

Life insurance organizations distrib
uted in 1908 in the United States and
Canada $33O.S 900, according to com
putations by The Insurance Press. In
these computations the figures are of
the amounts paid to insured persons or
their benefciaries in the forms of ma
tured endowments, death claims or
other benefits under the, policies of
level premium companies or the certifi
Gates of various life insurance associa-
tions- assessment and the like. The
amounts paid by the regular companies
in dividends to policyholders, for sur
render values, to annuitants, and on
claims in foreign countries are not
included.
Summation of life insurance pay
ments of all kinds in 1908 would give
the following: Claims paid in United
States and Canada, $33O,Sll 900; pay
ments for dividends and for surren-
der values and to annuitants and
foreign polcyholders (estimated), $780,
100000; grand total, S4sO,Sll,0 900.
Year of No Progress
From one point of view, 1908 was
practically a year of no progress, the
official returns from many states show
ing a falling off in payments for death
claims and endOwments. To some eX-
tent the falling off was due to the ex-
during the closing months of 1907, far
into 1908, as indicated by the increase
of loans on policies and the lapsa-
ton of policies, the former reducing
the amount payable to benefciaries
and the latter cutting off a large part
of insurance protection. The effects of
adverse legislation, that was begun in
1906, were also toward the reduction
of protection through the decrease of
agency forces and the limitations on
societies showed in most cases consid-
cradle declines in amounts paid, indicat-
ing for them the effect of the hard
times.
Increase In Loans.
According to the returns to the in
surance department of the state OF
New York, there was an apparent in
crease of more than $55,45e,O00 in loans
on policies in 1908. At the close of the
year the charge against policyholder;
for loans on their policies in companie;
| that reported was $362,029,4l7, re
ducing the insurance protection o.
sic, 497 500 to $lO.l35. 1874, 1872. Th'
apparent increase of the loans on policies
| by the companies that reported to thu
state of New York in 1907 was $72,
5S7 ,325, as compared with the increase
of $27, 279S26 in 1906.
| As in 1907, in many cases of loans
on life insurance policies commercial
credit was sustained, employers wer'
able to get sufficient money for thu
payment of the wages of their EN-
ployes, who otherwise would have beer
in straitened circumstances, and prop
critics were kept from sacrifice. Evi
IDENTIFY the regrettable loans-thos
taken by policyholders for speculative
purposes or for reloaning at highe
rates of interest-were not so EXTENSIVE
as in 1907.
Lapsation of Policies.
! According also to the returns to tn
insurance department of the state o
New York, the apparent increase in TIL
termination of life insurance policie
other than by death and maturity Tex
piry, surrender, lapse, decrease) wa
| q 10 81 Of
nation was $ll23973,SO3. As in 1907
the lapsation of policies through in
ability or unwillingness to carry in
surance was the largest of the factor
in the termination of life insuranc
protection.
In the estimate of the payments o
all kinds. to the amount of S4S0,Sll,
600 in 1908, the amount paid for lapsed
surrendered and purchased policies b.
all of the regular life insurance com
ranies in The United States was NOR
than $74000.O00, indicating an effcc
of the financial scare. The amour
for the similar account in 1907 wa
about $59.OOO,OOO
An offset, in part, to the amour
paid for surrendered policies was tn
amount of dividends paid to persisten
policyholders, the returns of companie
to the New York department showin
nearly So $4,000, an apparent increas
] of $1,73C.000.
| Summary By States.
Amounts of claims paid by life in
surance organizations in the Unite
States and in Canada during 1908:
Alabama observation-disclosures. $4,000
Arizona ...... 10000
Arkansas ........ 100000
California ............... 10000
Colorado .............. 100000
Connecticut ......... 100000
Delaware .,........ 10000
District of Columbia. $3.50. l,726,0O