The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-08-19
STATE INSURANCE.
ONLY REMEDY,
SAYS PALMER
Declares Commonwealth Must Pro-
tect wOrkmen, Who Cant Cope
With Agents Of Accident Ccmpan.
ies-Astounded at Revelations.
Investigators Slam German Com
mercial, of Philadelphia, and O. X.
Four Other Concerns.

II
OF Michigan, chairman OF the special
committee OF insurance commission
ers, which has spent several days IN
Detroit this week. investigating fraud
charges against many concerns do
Ing an Industrial accident business,
is convinced that the only real rem-
edy for the fiagrant abuses found is
for the st6te to engage an industrial
insurance itself. Here Is the state
ment he gave out Saturday:
The investigation Of the commit
tee revealed the fact that the work
ingmen OF the country, and partic-
ularly OF Michigan, will never be
really protected until we have a sys-
tenn OF state Industrial insurance In
which the commonwealth stands
back Of tho policy and guarantees
Its payment. There must always be
a class OF workingmen who are too
ignorant 10 cope with the experienced
agents OF accident insurance COM
panies. and no matter what the COM
panies promise, these people will
never be protected until we have a
state insurance company, which will
sell them honest insurance on a bus
tice to every man who insures with
1t, no matter whether he is person OF
influence or foreign workingman.
have been astounded by the rev.
elations brought out IN the investi-
cation by inoy committee. did
not believe II possible that conf
panies regularly organized to sell
Industrial insurance would go to the
length revealed to avoid payment of
claims. While there are some good
companies and the others all have
promised to be good, there Is no Ques-
ton that so long as this business re-
mains In private hands there will be
abuses which the utmost care on the
part of tho insurance department can
not remedy.
There Ii no question that there
must come In Michigan within the
next few yenrs broad. comprehen-
sive workmen's compensation act
that properly will protect working
men. And In connection with this
VIII urge that a system Of state In
dnstrial insurance be established. I
haven't talked with the governor yet
on this proposition, but / am sure
that he viii favor some action along
these lines, as he Is deeply Interest
ed in seeing the workingmen protect
ed In case OF Injury.
"rhe amount Of fraud practiced by
the casualty companies doing an In
dustrial business has been appalling
With few exception. the practice of
the companies has been to see how
much they could reduce legitimate
claims instead OF attempting to give
the actual insurance against accident
their policies call for.
while II is hardly likely that the
which investigated the
casualty companies will report In
favor OF state industrial insurance at
the convention In Milwaukee,, next
week, l, personally, believe. that Is
the only solution of the problem"
Another insurance company. doing
an Industrial health and accident
business, the German Commercial
Accident Co., of Philadelphia, il Civ
en- It's bumps, in bulletin made pub
lie, by the special investigating COM
mittee, Saturday morning. The re-
port contains the following summary:
"A thorough examination OF the
claims indicates that over so per cent
are compromised or scaled by this
The correspondence, in q
great percentage of claims, is volum-
inous and OF a haggling and bargain
ing nature. The moment the company
is advised Of either an accident OF
illness case, and especially where
the cases appear to be OF a serious
nature, II uses a high-pressure sys-
TEN to adjust the claims at once,
forcing the claimant, by
shrewd ingenuity, on the part of the
agent and the physician, to settle be-
fore illness ceases or length of dis
ability Is determined"
Chairman Palmer, of the commit
tee, stated that this summary has TO
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