The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-09-09
MANY EMPLOYEES ADOPT
GROUP INSURANCE PLAN
SYSTEM RECENTLY ANNOUNCED
BY THE FEOERAL-ITS APP
PRoxIMATE COST.

Ine action recently taken by tn
Federal Mining & Smelling compan,
in carrying free life insurance for al
its employees lends special local interes
to an article in the Engineering anC
Mining Journal of July 81 by Ballard
Dunn, of the Equitable Life Assurance
society, in which he tells of the wide
application of group insurance, where
it originated. how it may be introduc-
ed and its approximate cost. 1t is
probable that the system will be adopt
ed by other mining companies of this
district and in any event what Mr..
Dunn says on the subject from the
standpoint of the insurance company
D is highly interesting and is here re-
y produced:
First at Calumet & Hecla.
James MacNaughtOn. vice president
and general manager of the Calumet &
Hecla Mining company has earned a
reputation as a man of affairs. Like
many American business executives
who have been successful in a big
way, there is an intensely human side
to his character-in addition to being
a practical business man, he is an
apostle of practical humanity. The in
terests and welfare of the employees of
those companies of which he has
charge has always been the subject of
his sOlicitude.
Workers in copper mines do not US
ually carry much life insurance, and
the lack of it at the death of the bread
winner early attracted the attention OF
MDRNgnpbfnn 10 -, :
much misery commonly followed the
death of one of the miners. and an in
vestigation revealed the startling truth
that about 20 per cent of his employees
could not get life INSURANCE if they
desired it, because for one reason or
another. they were not able to pass
the necessary physical examination. He
also found that approximately another |
20 per cent could secure insurance if |
they wished. but had not provided for !
the contingency of death.
The result of these investigations
was an arrangement with the Equi-
table Life Assurance society for a pol
icy of group life insurance covering all
employees in the Calumet & Hecla prop
critics. an insurance policy amounting
to nearly $1OOOO.OOO and protecting the
beneficiaries of between 5000 and TO-
600 employees.
Every employee who has served six
months with the Calumet & Hecla
Mining company is given an individual
life insurance certificate for 1000. At
the end of the first year this certificate
is increased to $1,1OO, and for every =
year of completed service thereafter an
additional 800 is provided, until at I
the end of five years it has reached a t
total of $500 This maximum of in {
surance continues throughout the en-
ploye's services.
To make this arrangement, the en- {
eire number of employees was insured S
without medical examination and re- I
CARELESS of age, sex, or nationality. The a
premium for the entire program of a
insurance is paid by the Calumet & i
Hecla Mining company. b
Within a few days after the insur- t
ance went into effect five deaths oc- a
CURED among the older employees, up a
on which insurance benefits were il
promptly paid. This. in the language a
of Mr. MacNaughton did more toward IS
making the insurance acceptable and g
appreciated by their employees than 1
anything else could have done" +,
Employees Appreciative. e.
One of Mr. MacNaughtons friends, o
speaking about his attitude toward r.
group life insurance and his interest in Il
it, said: c.
Mr.. MarNaughton is very enthusi- ri
astid about the group plan, and says d
that he has received several letters of &C
appreciation from his employees He al
also states that this is very unusual, Ell
as in all his experience in the handling m
Of men, and he has had considerable, hi
he has never received appropriations of pl
this kind"
The most interesting side of the en- &C
tire group plan, however, is in its eff 81
feet upon the problems of employment er
Mr.. MacNaughton, expressing himself to
upon this point says: NJ
81 feel very confident that in order hC
10 compete with us in the employment in
Of men, the other mining companies of
n this district will eventually have to be
adopt this or a similar plan" tn
This prophecy has in large meas su
ire been fulfilled. Most of the mines til
n the northern peninsula of Michigan nc
nave introduced a similar program of of
group life insurance, among them the en-
seneca and Gratiot mines of the Lew es
shon interests. the Michigan Copper wi
Mining company, the Mohawk COM tn
,any, and the Wolverine Copper Min
ng company.
In addition to these copper mines in to
Michigan. the program has been ex- or
ended to the Tonopah district of Ne toi
ada, where the employees of the gold
nd silver mines of the Tonopah Min
ng company are thus protected, and at
o the Ontario nickel district where in
he International Nickel company has :