Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-03-21
1918 IN the Insurance World
Insur.nce press Annual Review.

Looking backward, insurance historians find
no parallel for the momentous and memorable
year Of 1918
Looking forward, insurance prophets can
foresee no counterpart either in circumstance or
in achievement.
Not in mere magnitude will the year 1918 re-
main permanently distinguished, for no powers
of imagination nor gifts Of prophecy are re-
quired to foreshadow the triumphant march of
succeeding years, each over-towering in d.
menson the greatness of its predecessor.
The singularity of 1918, which sets it apart
and distinct from all years which have passed
and all years which are to come, exists in the
extraordinary coincidence of events under which
insurance achieved its greatest development,
performed its greatest service, endured its
Excepting the branch OF fire insurance,
which had passed through limited experience
during the civil war, American insurance as an
institution, embracing life, health casualty,
surety and practically every form of underwrt-
ing, received its real baptism of war in the year
that closed upon the scene of the worlds great
est desolation.
Generally considered, war is not a hazard
contemplated in the calculation of insurance
premiums. The vast development of insurance
in the United States had taken place in the
peaceful stretch of nearly three score years,
since the War of the Rebellion. Accordingly,
the perils OF war, to person, property and prod
uct, imposed upon American insurance in all
forms hazard which was as incalculable as it
was unexpected Life insurance policies permit
ting no readjustment of premium to meet in
creased hazards were especially exposed. Est-
mates have been made that at the cessation of
hostties, the American overseas army, ap-
proXimating 100000 men, carried in exposure
of between $3000000000 and $50000 900 life
insurance excluding the insurance provided by
the government.
Fortunately this vast potential loss has been
restored to practically normal exposure, and the
relatively brief duration of actual warfare by
American troops caused no material increase in
the general mortality What might have hap
pened to American life insurance if our soldiers
had been engaged in battle for four years, as
comrades with their English, French and Italian
allies, is conjectural. The gratifying and reas-
surfing fact is that American insurance partci-
pated in its first great war, without appreciable
effect upon its vast resources.
While the eyes and the hands of the nation
were centered upon its foes across the seas, an
insidious rear attack was made upon the Ameri
can people by an internal enemy of peculiar
menace to life and health insurance. Confronted
with the greatest war tasks in our history, the
nation was simultaneously forced to combat its
worst pestilential epidemic. Accepting the
latest war bureau figures, 267,00 as represent
ing the total casualties of the American army,
it appears no exaggeration to assert that prob
ably twice that number have died in the United
States since September / from influenza and
pneumonia, either as direct or contributory
cause Thus for every soldier killed or wounded
in battle during an exposed period of Is months,
two American lives were lost through the cpl
demc in an exposed period of six months. One
hundred million dollars does not appear an ex-
cessve estimate for the extra mortality losses
caused by this plague.
Although constructed with scientific accur-
acy and safeguarded by every financial and legal
protection, the general system of life insurance
could not be expected to reckon with such an
unforeseen factor. Only the science OF life I'M
derwriting and the integrity and intelligence OF
its management averted financial catastrophe
of incaculable magnitude. The science and
strength of insurance became its salvation.
Emergency funds and SURPRISES, built up as an
extra precauton in addition to mere legal re-
quirements, provided ample resources to meet
sudden sight draft of $l00,000000. The scourge
OF disease, instead of irnpairing the security of
American life insurance, only served to further
reveal its improbable strength.
Suppementing the menace to life, by reason
OF war and disease, an increased hazard to
property, resulting from the abnormal social
and industrial conditions of the nation. The
the military draft, the feverish construction of
buildings and the manufacture of munitions re-
CURED BY the exigencies OF the war, the con-
gestion of materials arising from traffic condi-
tons, increased the fire peril of the nation to the
maximum point in its history. To this over
whelming menace to property. the weather con-
tributed an added factor in the form of winter
of unprecedented severity. With such an ad-
verse combination, substantial increase in fire
losses was expected, and although the total fire
destruction surpassed every previous period ex-
cepting the year of the San Francisco fire, the
fire insurance interests gave material proof to
the insurng public of their stability and
strength by their triumphant emergence from
vcissitudes
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