Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-01-31
FOR
YANKS TO HOLD
POLICIES GIVEN
Have Plan for Men TO
Retain Insurance
Provides Dividend.

Washington, Jan. 3l.-Conditions
under which soldiers or sailors.
now holding government life in
surance may transfer these poll
cies within five years into other
forms, which can be carried with
the government during their life
time, was announced today by Col
Onel Henry d. Lindsey, OF the war
risk insurance bureau. Rates will
be made public and the new poll
cies Will not be available until then.
He presented three classes Of in
surance as follows: Ordinary life,
20 payment life, 80 payment life,
20 year endowment, 80 year endOw-
ment. and endowment payable at
the age of g.. All policies will con-
tain clauses providing that in case
of permanent total disability OF the
insured man, the government will
make monthly payments to him and
premium payments will cease. This
amounts virtually 10 old age pen
sioning 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.
All policy holders will participate
in dividends. and earnings of over
81 per cent from the insurance,
will go into dividends.
Since the reserves are invested
in government securities it is GER
tain there VIII be good dividends.
Collections Of premiums will be
made through postmasters in each
community.
Although the rates have not yet
been announced, Colonel Lindsey
stated today they would be so low
that officials OF private insurance
companies had admitted that their
companies could not compete with
them.
Any man now in military or nav
al service holding government term
life insurance, can obtain the new
forms, but the amount will be lin
tied to his present holdings which
in no case are more than 100000.
The government urges all men
TO continue to carry their present
policies. but to convert these is
soon as they are financially able
within the next five years.
The government, itself, and not
private companies, will carry these
converted policies. it was empha-
sized today in denial Of reports
that the insurance business built
up on the lives of fighting men dur
ing 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, furnish
ing protection at cost to men who
participated 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
today reported that 4.4S0.000 poll
Cies already have been issued to
soldiers and sailors for Insurance
aggrcgating S3S.232, 100000 OF an
average of $S,156 on each man. The
volume Of this business may be de
termined by comparison with the
$21. 900, 100000 total of life insuT-
ance carried by private companies
in the United States, according to
figures cited today by bureau off
Cials. While the largest private
life insurance company in the Coun-
try last year wrote $3I6.OO0O0) of
the insurance, the government
wrote $356, 100000 or new policies
this month. when business was de-
Up to today thirtv-four thousand
two hundred thirty-nine awards
had been made on deaths Of sol
diers and an aggregate of 1924 ,720,-
900 had been paid out.