Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1913-11-11

policy form or form of life insnr
ance that would prove GREAT
seller and meet a great popular de-
mand he must lay down All bis
cards before the Manager of the
State Life Fund for his approval
and there is absolutely nothing to
prevent him from appropriatin9 for
the use of the Life Fund all or as
much of it as he desires.
Read again the provision exemnt-
ing the State Life Fund from tbe
requirements of the laws applicable
to all other life insurance com
panies except as specially pro
vided, the other provisions of law
relating to insurance shall not
apply to the life fund. 1889 MINI
If there are no laws on the statnte
books making for an increase in the
cost of life insurance when furn-
ished by the regular companies.
why exempt the State Life Fund
from such laws
IF the life insurance laws on the
statute books were necessary for
the protection and benefit of the
insuring public of this state, why
should not the policyholders of the
State Life Fund be given the equal
protection of these laws
Read carefully the law itself to
appreciate how complete and auto
cratic is the power given the Gen
eral Manager Of this State Life
Fund He makes all rules and
regulations (l8) he prepares all
forms, policies, schedules of prem
iums, tables of costs of insurance
and reserve, and other data (3)
while the State Treasurer is the
custodian of the Life Fund 'all
other matters in relation thereto
shall be under the supervision of
the commissioner of insurance (2) :"
while the secretary of state, at
torney general and state treasurer
are on the Investment Board they
can invest the fund only Subject
to the general direction of the
commissioner of insurance as to the
amount to be invested" (2): the
commissioner of insurance, with
the state board of health, passes
upon and approves all applications
for life insurance ca he collects or
receives all premium collections he
distributes all surplus (9) makes all
premium loans Q0) authorizes the
payment of all cash surrenders; he
employs all clerks and assistants
and fixes their compensation; he
makes all valuations of policies and
keeps all accounts of the Life Fund
%; the audits made by the secre-
tary of state for any fees or ex-
penses t. which any person shall
be entitled" and paid by the treas
urer are upon the certificate of
the commissioner of insurance.
The State Life Fund is supposed
to be on the mutual plan but no
| policyholder has voice or vote in
its management and the manage
ment can be reached only through
enactments of the legislature.
The elaborate and detailed system
of election of directors, provided for
mutual companies, with the prOhi-
| bition of proxies, to place i'm the
hands of policyholders the power to
safeguard their interests does not
| apply to the State Life Fund.
There is not and there could not
exist in this country stock life in
surance company with such auto
cratic power vested in one man,
even if that one man owned every
dollar of the capital stock.
If a life insurance company should
apply for license in this state where
in one man had such power and was
SO dominating factor that COM
pany would be denied admission as
detrimental to the interests of the
insurance public of this state.
But here, we not only have such
autOcratiC absolute power, but in
the hands of this same man is also
| placed the supervision of the COM
petitors of this State Life Fund,
for which the State of Wisconsin
assumes no liability beyond the
amount of the fund" placed in it's
care, and these competitors have
dumbly, quietly and submissively,
without opposition permitted the
enactment of this law, either fear
ing the power of this supervisor or
to avoid the charge that the oppo-
sition comes from the soulless cor
poration. And these companies are
not opposing the State Life Fund
now If that is the kind of life in
surance the people of this state
want, that is the kind of life insur-
ance they should have.
The present commissioner of in
surance of Wisconsin is a man of
great ability; I believe him to be
eminently fair; he is aggressive;
this is his pet scheme and he is 90
ing to win out with it if he can.
None of the Wisconsin life compan-
les have opposed the State Life
Fund; they are not going to oppose
it. Personally | want to see the
state officials give it trial and |
shall be glad to see them get little
actual experience of their own
even if the other tax payers will
have to bear the freight. But all
the same | believe this Law to be
outrageously unfair and unjust to
the life insurance companies organ
lied in this state, and to those who
| have been licensed to transact bus
mess. There was no wrong to be
| corrected and no need for such an
! experiment, and no better evidence
of this, then the fact that it was
not until October p, l9l3-two
wears and three months a fer the
enactment of the law-that suf-
| ficient applications-the minimum
required being 200-had been gath
cred and the first policies issued
With it all, there will come no
harm or injury to the regular life
companies; they will give more sat
isfactory service and furnish in
surance at less cost. 1t was an ex-
pertinent bound to be tried in this