Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1919-02-05
CHANGE SOLDIERS INSURANCE.
Policies May be Carried During
Their Lifetime.

| under which soldiers or sailors now
holding government life insurance
may convert these policies within
FIVE years into other forms, which
can be carried with the government
during their lifetime, were an
nounced to-day by Col. Henry D.
Lindsley. Of the War Risk Insurance
Bureau. Rates will be made public
soon, and the new policies will not
te available until then.
There will be six different kinds
Of, Misunderstanding life, 2O-pay-
naent life, Repayment life, 2O-year
endowment, 3O-year endowment,
and endowment payable at the age
Of 62. All policies will contain
clauses providing that in case of
permanent total disability Of the in
sured man, the government will
E,ake monthly payments to him and
amounts virtually to old age pension
ing and disability insurance, and in
sures that no man who has served
in the army or navy need be desti-
Surance.
All policy-holders will participate
in dividends, and earnins of over
three and q half per cent from the
insurance fund will go into divi-
dends. Since the reserves will be
invested in government securities,
most of which will pay in the neigh
borhood of 1-2 per cent, it Is said
there will be large dividends to be
returned periodically to policy hold
ers.
Through Postmastcrs.
Collections Of premiums will be
made through postmasters in each
community.
Although the rates have not yet
Heen announced, Col. Lindsey stated
to-day that they would be so low
that officials Of private insurance
| companies which assisted in draft
ing the rate schedule had admitted
their companies could not compete
with them.
Any man now in military or naval
service holding government term
| life insurance can obtain new forms,
but the amount will be limited to
his present holdings, which in no
case are more than $4,000. The
government urges all men to con-
! tinuc to carry their present policies,
! but to convert these as soon as they
are financially able, wtthin the next
! live years
The government itself, and not
private companies, will carry these
converted policies, it was emphazied
to-day in denial Of reports that the
insurance business built up or the
lives Of fighting men during the war
would now be turned over by the
government to private concerns.
Thus will be created permanent
government life insurance agency,
the biggest in the world, furnishing
protection at cost to men who par
ticipated in the war, and future
members 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 100000 poll
cies already have been issued to
soldiers and sailors for insurance
| aggregating $39,232, 100000, or an
| average of 1876 on each man. The
volume Of this business may be de-
termined by comparison with the
$4,000, 100000 total of life insur-
ance carried by private companies
| in the United States, according to
figures cited to-day by bureau
| officials. While the largest private
life insurance company in the coun-
| try last year wrote $316,0O0,00O Of
! insurance, the government wrote
1896, 100000 Of new policies this
month, when business was declining.
Up to to-day 34,969 awards had
been made on deaths Of soldiers or
sailors for amounts aggregating
4,720,OO0.
| see--
| "A War Between Systems.