The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-24
INSURANCE METHOD
 IS CRITICISED
Insurance Commissioners Heavily Score Certain
 Companies Actions

Milwaukee, August 23.-Important legislation for the control of insurance companies doing an industrial, health and accident business was proposed Tn the report of the special committee Of the Insurance Commissioners of the United States made public al the con vention here today
 Basis for new Legislation is given in reports on the examination of IA com panies in which nearly 20o0 settlements effected by these companies are dls- cussed and criticised In discussing the settlements of these claims the report says:
 "Of the specific claims examined. where the amount is usually consider able. the percentage of scaled or re- jected claims is high-indeed. very much too high to be explained by error of judgment or carelessness. Indeed, the commiteee feels warranted In con- cluding that when dealing with com panies doing an industrial, health or ac- cident business, the polieyholding pub lie of the country-particularly those who through ignorance or poverty are unable to protect mselves-has too frequently been the victim of incon- scionable practices in the claim depart ments of the companies criticised in this report Promises of reformation made at the hearings are. therefore, not enough. This convention should take action which will guarantee the just treatment of policyholders in the future"
 The list of companies whose examina- tion was the occasion for the report is as follows:
 Standard Accident Insurance com pan, Detroit. Mich.
 United States Health and Accident h. surance company, Saginaw, Mich.
 Massachusetts Accident company. Boston,
 Great Eastern Casualty company, New York.
 Federal Casualty company, Detroit.
 Equitable Accident company, Boston.
 Continental Casualty company, Ham, mond, Ind.
 North American Accident Insurance company, Chicago.
 National Casualty company, Detroit.
 Fidelity Accident company, Saginaw, Mich.
 General Accident F. and l.. Assurance 
 American Assurance company, Phiadel- phia.
 Phoenix Preferred Accident company, Detroit, Mich.
 German Commercial Accident company, Philadelphia.
 The report says of one company: Tt is impossible in language fitted to an of- ficial document aptly to characterize Il, f,r- and methods of the industrial department of the corporation in settling with its policy-holders. It appears to have re- sorted to every possible means. not mere ly to protect Aself against imposition-for which it could not be criticised-but also more particularly to cut and shave down claims. apparently without conscience and certainly without right
 The report further says that only two or three of the companies examined have been found to be substantially undeserv- ing of any criticism.
 Three or four others merely show in reasonably isolated cases either errors in adjustments,s or that the bad practices of competitors were sometimes followed
 About half of the companies examined show serious conditions in their claims departments, especially adjustmeht of specific claims of considerable amounts, while in at least two of such companies these conditions are shocking as to call forth immediate and emphatic re- forms"
 The reports conclude with 24 recommen- dations, the m/st important of which are:
 That a standard industrial health and accident policy provision law be enact ed; that prorating for change of occupa- ton should be permitted only when the insured has actually changed his occu- pstion that the policy fee be abolished; that all industrial agents and collectors be licensed by the state; that freq len, examinations covering not only financial conditions but also treatment of policy holders be conducted either by the in- dividual states or by a committee of the convention and that publicity be given to the results of all such examinations