The Washington herald., 1920-04-04
METRO. LIFE'S
RECORD UNIQUE
Last Years Business Great
|. est of Its Kind in the
World.
'IGURES SURPRISING
enormous Increase Signi6-
cant of Public S Interest
/ In Thrift.
'ICURES SURPRISING

World records are always inter-
esting, regardless of the achieve
ments they stand for. Some, Of
course, are of vastly greater public
account than others, but all are
strikingly eventful in their respec-
tive fields of effort. Whether 1t be
in sporting events, manufacturing
outputs, financial exploits, or what
ever else of worldly wide concern, the
laurel wreath. by popular acclaim.
deservedly falls to the premier win
ner. The shafts of envy may some
times be helplessly flung at MS
crown, but among men OF genuine
fighting fiber the honors OF victory
and leadership are always conceded,
promptly and without grudge or
stint.
A new and notable illustration OF
this fact is furnished in the evolu-
tions of the life insurance business
during the year 1913. Naturally
there is always some one company
that heads the list in accumulated
assets and volume OF business
rounded up IN the course OF a years
transactions, and the results are
Just as naturally far-famed and ex-
ceptionally impressive. Thus 1t ap-
pears that the total achievements
of the Metropolitan Life, for in
stance, in all departments of its
business for the twelve months in
question were not only bewildering-
ly unique, but contituted a world
record in their line, the decisiveness
of which compels bo1h wonder and
admiration.
Twenty-Five years ago Ii was the
rule among company managers to
think in terms of comparatively
few millions only concerning the
aggregate volume of new insur-
ance written by their respective in
stitutions in any given year, and q
company that wrote as much as
$4,000, 900 or $60.0O0,0 900 was rated
as doing a notably heavy business.
AS a matter of fact, there were
less than half a dozen companies
that even approximated that total.
But today several Of the leading
offices think of such transactions
in terms of even hundreds of mil
lions Nor can any man say where
the ultimate limit is to be. For
present purposes 1t is sufficient, as
we'll as actually startling, to note
that in the case of the Metropoli-
tan the total amount of paid-for
insurance written by it last year
was not far from $1,500. ZOO, 900. or
to be exact $1.41s,6S1,4s2, of which
no less than $91o.0s1.0S7 belong to
the ordinary branch exclusively,
with s50S,590.4o5 as the total Of
the industrial department. Nor is
there less Importance. perhaps. in
the gain shown in the above grand
Dtal over that recorded for the
preceding year of moro than $780,
000.o00.
Cnder the circumstances, no one
need be surprised to learn that the
company's aggregate insurance in
force at the close of 1919 stood at
over five and a third billions of dol
lars. of which, notwithstanding the
common impression that the great
bulk of its business is of the indus
trial order. the huge sum of S914.-
14O,e1S represented a clear gain over
the outstanding total at the close
of 1918
Equally significant and interest
ing, too, is the company's income
record for the year, figures of which
were, for premiums, S1s2,4S9.s32, and
from all sources, S254.72S.942, an av-
erage of nearly 100000 Cs6s7,sss)
for every day in the year, including e
Sundays.
In the face of such a phenomenal
exhibit as that presented by the
foregoing figures, no apology is nee
essary for the references thus spe-
cifically made to them. They are
monumental in their meaning and
plainly add new and unprecedented
luster to the noble profession in
which they so impressively figure.
The cause of life insurance itself is
distincly greatly the gamer by
what thew stand for