Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-01-14
A SUBJECT
FOR THOUGHT
The Christmas Gifts of a
Great Life Insurance
Company.

The policy-holders of the Metro
politan Life Insurance Comapny will
read the christmas Announcement"
just issued by that famous organi-
Zation with lively feeling of self
congratulation; and even those who
have no personal connection with
the company will examine the an
nouncement with deep interest and
appreciation of the spirit in which
| it is made.
1t is undoubtedly the temper of
the times to condemn more and
more the callous methods of power
full corporations which secure inor-
dinate wealth for themselves with
no thought of benefiting the thou
sands to whose cooperation their
success is largely due; and the pub
lie is quick, on the other hand, to
commend policy quite the oppo-
site
The Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company, during all the period COW
cred by it's remarkably successful
conduct of life insurance as a purely
business proposition, has created
and consistently maintained a bond
of human sympathy between itself
and the great multitude of people
who are both contributors to the
company's prosperity and dependent
upon it for their own relief in time
of need. This company has volun-
tarily paid its policy holders, within
a period Of seventeen years, twenty
five millions of dollars MORE THAN !
THEIR POLICIES ENTITLED
THEM TO-twenty-five millions in
excess of the company's expectations.
The voluntary distribution of cash
benefits that make up with the ex-
ception of four millions added to Re
serve Liability this stupendous to-
tai has taken place at pretty fire.
quent intervals. Whenever a period
of decreased mortality, or of les
sened expense in proportion to vol !
ume of business, or of excess inter |
est earnings, has created a fund |
from which substantial bonuses
could be paid, it has been applied
to that purpose. A fresh announce
ment of bonuses payable by the
Metropolitan Life is now taken
more or less as a matter of course. I
1t is not spasmodic generosity, but
a consistent policy of the company
to share with its policy-holders all
earnings in excess of the estimated |
PROBABILITIES upon which their
policies are based.
This years Christmas announce
ment deals with industrial policies. !
1t is interesting to observe the con
siderate manner In which its bene-
fits are distributed An aged per-
son who has carried Industrial in
surance for many years is the one
most likely 10 find the premium
burden, Hence all pol |
icy-holders who pass the age of IS
in the year 1910 receive a bonus
sufficient to pay their further pre-
miums for a fun year; policies of
80 years duration are awarded
sums covering six months pre-
miums; and so on own to the poll
cies issued between 1896 and 1905,
which are awarded bonuses covering
five weeks premiums
Perhaps the most notable award
In this present distribution is the
payment of two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars on death claims
that had already been settled in fun |
between January 1 1897 and July |
1. 1909 One can imagine the con-
ditions that may have made these
unexpected sums gsdsend to those
who received them.
During 1910, each death claim |
payment ON an Industrial policy win |
cover not only the face OF the claim
(that Is, an that the beneficiary Is