Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1919-02-19
UNCLE SAM LEADS
INSURANCE WORLD.
Biggest Life Concern to Carry Risks
On Lives of Soldiers Of Late
War
RULES FOR CONVERSION
AT END OF FIVE YEARS
United States to Carry Policies and
Business Will not Be Turned
Over to Private Concerns
Insured Soldiers to
Share Dividends

!
under which soldiers and sailors
holding government life insurance
may convert their policies within
five years into other forms which can
be carried with the government dur
ing their lifetime have been announ-
ced by Col. Henry D. Lindsey, of the
war risk insurance bureau. Rates
will be made public soon. The new
policies will not be available until
then.
There will be six different kinds of
MISUNDERSTANDING life, twenty
payment life, thirty-payment life,
twenty-year endowment, thirty-year
endowment and endowment payable
at 80.
All policies will contain clauses
providing that in case of permanent
total disability of the insured man,
the government will make monthly
payments to him and premium pay
ments will cease. This amounts
virtually to old age pensioning and
disability insurance and insures that
no man who has served in the army
or navy need ever be destitute if he
carries the government insurance.
Insured to Share Dividends.
All policyholders will participate
in dividends, and earnings of over
3 " per cent from the insurance fund
will go into dividends. Since the re-
serves will be invested in government
securities, most of which will pay
4 la per cent, it is certain there will
be large dividends to be returned
periodically to policyholders.
~ Collections of premiums will be
made thru postmasters. Colonel Lin
dsley said the rates would be so low
that officials of private insurance
companies admitted their companies
could not compete with them.
Any man now in military or naval
service holding government term life
insurance can obtain the new forms,
but the amount will be limited to his
present holdings. which in no case
are more than 10000. The govern
ment urges all men to continue to
carry their present policies, but to
convert these as soon as they are
financially able within the next five
years.
L. S. to Carry Policies.
The government itself and not pri-
vate companies will carry these con-
verted policies, it was emphasized in
the denial of the reports that the in
surance business built up on the
lives of fighting men during the war
would now be turned over by the
government to private concerns.
Thus will be created a permanent
government life insurance agency,
the biggest in the world, furnishing
protection at cost to men who parti-
cipated in the war and future men,
bers OF the regular army or navy,
with postmaster agents in every city
and town in the United States.
The war risk insurance bureau to-
day reported that 4,4S0,000 policies
already have been issued to soldiers
and sailors for insurance aggregat-
ing $39,232, 100000 or an average of
$S,756 on each man. The volume OF
this business may be determined by
comparison with the $27, 100000
900 total of life insurance carried
by private companies in the United
States, according to figures cited by
bureau officials.
While the largest private life in
surance company in the country last
year wrote $316,0OO,O00 of insur-
ance, the government wrote $685.
900, 900 of new policies this month,
when business was declining.
Up to today 34,969 awards had
been made on deaths of insured SOL
diers and sailors for amounts aggre-
eating $297,720,000.