New-York tribune., 1912-03-05
WOW! HURT AMERICA
, ifo Insurance Companies Here
; practically Out Of Italy,
GOVERNMENT MONOPOLY
r.w York Men Declare Law
would Drive Away All the
Foreign Concerns.

natives of some of the largest
s,,-once companies here doing busi-
lie I,aIv said Yesterday that until they
ness tho flll text Of tho bill providing
hao -, 80 monopoly Of life insurance, that
}" anproved by the italian chamber OF
.t,.s N~' on Saturday, they could not say
Oep"t ,ot effect the law would have on
JUs' 80 companies writing policies in
-1niO'-tv -.,,,trv. They seemed TO think, how
thS' ,sot If the bill passed the Senate, as
med probable. and becomes law,
n, mean that foreign companies VIII
.ss doing business in Italy.
va r,nresentative OF the Mutual Life said
.or,panv had stopped writing policies In
80 irst before the Messina earthquake,
,.oo,d therefore not be affected by the
s.,r law unless it was retroactive IN whlch
soss of course. the policies already IN force
.,ould be taken over Dy L.e government
80, from what he read Of the bill he did
~, think it applied to old business.
Tbe only harm that might result to The
,,,,,ual from the new law, provided 1t was
-, retroactive. this man said, was that
'o,cvbolders might not be inclined TO Keep
rD their policies with the COMPANY but
,rapld let them lapse, in order to insure WIN
the government ..,-,
The reason the Mutual ceased doins bus'-
,sss IN Italy. he added was because II dlo
,o, find II profitable under the insurance
,.uu that were already In force there al
t.c,lng foreign companies. These provided
among other things that substantial
amount OF the premium received from
.'a,,,,ns written there mus: he invested in
1t, Government bonds. As these bonds
a., interest at the rate OF only SA per
o.,t wear. ne said the company did not
..,,Aer them profitable Investment. The
.r,o,,rt Of money invested in these bonds
s.. +ne Mutual up 10 the time il stopped
An,,, business ir Italy, he thought, was
about s}5NWO
n An officer OF the Equitable lAIe AsSur-
.ance Society said thai. in common WITH
number Of other American companies the
rouitable had stopped doing business IN
rsly several months ago in anticipation
fat the bill Just approved by the Chamber
NJ Deputies would become law. He did
not believe either. that the law was retro
active, but thought that the policies al
ready written would be allowed TO run
along Just as they were. The bill. If 1t be
came a law. meant, however, he said, that
American and other foreign companies
would have 10 stop writing insurance in
Italy. put as they had practically all ceased
70 do so already. the actual passage of the
law would not have much effect on their
general business.
The local insurance men did not seem
10 think there was any likelihood OF con-
certed action on the part of European coun-
tries TO follow Italy's example in forcing
out American companies, but they said
there was a disposition on the part OF for
eign life insurance companies TO make 1t
harder for American companies TO do busi-
ness in their various countries.
The Equitable and one or two other COM
panies recently stopped dong business in
Mexico, owing to a law requiring them %
invest the full amount Of the premiums
received for policies written there in Meu-
can securities. They have also stopped
doing business In the State Of Texas for
the same reason.