The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-24
SAY PROMISES
NOT ENOUGH To
DELAY ACTION
State Commissioners Look
Into Scaling Down or Re
lection of Just Insur-
ance Claims.
FIND PERCENTAGE
Is MUCH ZOO HIGH
Legislation Recommended to
Cure Some of the Evils
Practiced Upon Policy
Holding Public.

n GlTsWAUKE.E. WIS. Aug. 23.-Im-
Ia IN portaut legislation for the cou-
tV troll Of insurance companies do
4S4 ing an Industrial health and
Incident business Is proposed IN
the report or the special committee OF
nitcd states. made public today. The
baSla for the legisle tlca proposed is given
In reports on the cxnmInation Of four
ten teen companies In which nearly 1000 set.
are discussed and criticised. In discuss
Ing the settlement OF these claims. the
report says:
''ol the specific claims exa:nired.
where thc amount involved is cons!d
erab... the percentage OF scaled or re-
jccted claims is high; indeed. very much
TOO high 20 be explained by error o.
judgment or carcicssness
Indeed. the committee feels warranted
IN concluding that when dealing with
companies doing an Industrial health OF
accident business the polIcy holding
public OF the country has too frequently
been the victim uf unconsconab.c prac
ticcs IN the claim departments Of the
companies criticised In this report.
Promises Not Enough.
Promises Of reformation made at tho
hearings are therefore. not enough. This
convcntion should take action which
VIII guarantee Just treatment Of policy
ho'dcrs In tie future"
The companies nndcr eXa mi mutton a.S:
STANDARD Accident Insurance company,
Detroit
United states Health and Accident In.
suy1nac company. Saginaw. Mich.
MassnchIictts Accident company. Bos
tor
Gc4t Eastern Casualty company. New
York
Federal Casualty company. Detroit.
Equitable Accident company. Boston
Continentai Casualty company. Ham
North American Accident Insurance
company. Chicago.
National Casualty company Detroit
Fidelity Accident company. Saginaw.
General Accident r. and l.. Insurance
corporate lon.
American Assurance company, Phiia-
dclphia.
Phoenix Preferred Accident company,
Detroit.
German Commercial Accident company.
Phiudcphia
The report says OF one company.
''It Is impossible in language fitted IN
an official document APPLY to characteriz
what seems TO have been the practices
and methods OF the industrial department
of this corporation In settling with It's
policy holders. 1t appears TO have resort
ed To every possible means. not merely to
protect Itself against Imposition. for
which il could not be criticised but also
and more particularly. to cut and shave
down claims apparently without con-
science and certainly without right"
The report further SAYS that only two
or three OF the companies examined have
been rounG 10 be ostnntially undescrv-
Ing Of any criticism.
Three or four others merely show in
reasonably isolated cases. either errors IN
adjustment. or that the bad practices OF
competitors were sometimes followed.
About half the companies examined show
serious conditions In their claim depart
mcnts particularly in the adjustment OF
specific claims of considerable amounts:
while, in Mt least two OF such companies.
these conditions are so shocking as. TO call
for Immediate and emphatic reforms"
The report concludes with twenty -four
recommendations. the most important of
which are: