Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-01-24

INSURANCE VILLAGE.

sold policies only at large pre-
miums. This II particularly hard
on aerobats and other circus per-
formers, who are constantly having
minor accidents, and are always
taking desperate chances. Aviators
also md Il most dimcult to obtain
not only accident policies. but life
insurance, while prize fighters are
not considered good risks ut all.
Business ability il IN asset which
Is being heavily insured these days,
although this Is usually insured
against death rather than accident.
Experience has shown large cor
porations that, in spite OF stan OF
well-trained men. they are chiefly
dependent upon the brains OF one
or two individuals Of conspicuous
ability. So the corporations now
insure these individuals for sums
which appear quite staggering un-
til you consider what It would
mean. for instance. to the Bethle-
hem Steel company to lose . man
like Mr.. Schwab.
The personality of q man Of this
type is worth a great deal Of mon
ey to a company. and it SO happens
that every year more and more
firms are insuring their principal
officials, and even minor ones, for
millions of dollars. Rodman Wan
amaker's life is insured for four
million dollars; the president OF
the Imperial Tobacco company for
$1,500,000; Mark Workman, .presi-
dent Of the Dominion Iron e. Steel
company. for a million, and many
others for enormous sums.
This sort of personality insur-
ance is now particularly popular in
the theatrical profession, where the
loss of famous star often means
the ruin of a whole performance,
or even ties up contracts Of great
importance. Nearly every film IA
vorite is insured for huge amounts.
The life of Eugene O'Brien is in
sured for one million dollars, and
Norma Talmadge's life is valued at
an equally high amount by her
company. Madame Nazimova's life
has recently been insured for $780,
900, and one might 60 on with a
long list.
While the insuring of ones life
by ones boss is most desirable
compliment, there are times when
it becomes rather uncomfortable
say when the firm is losing money
and the boss is trying without sue
cess to raise funds. Thus, one
moving picture actress declares
that she will never permit a com.
pany to insure her life again. Once
she says, was enough. This was
last summer when she was engag.
ed to do a serial of the here-I-go'
and-who-cares variety, in which
she had to perform many escapade:
that did not coincide with her idea
of having a good time at all. To
wards the end of the serial it was
rumored that the company was il
dire financial straits, and simulta
neously, she says with creepy EN-
phasis, the serial stunts became
riskier and riskier.
Then one day the director re
marked alphabetically, Gee, the!
must be trying to collect on you
life insurance"
Life insurance-whose life in
surance?" inquired the amazed
! young desperate.
why, didn't you know" SAT-
the director, that your life was in
sured for fifty thousand dollars?"
Tried to kill me off in the las
episode, you see," explained tn
movie actress in telling the story
and she really seems to believe il
Then there is the case>of com
pany whose business was to star
a series of marvellous apple orch
ards throughout the south. The,
sold great deal of stock and sue
ceeded in buying the ground an,
planting the trees. but then the.
had to wait until the trees matur
ed. When the affairs of the con
Germ were in a hopeless state, tn
vice president of the company wa
suddenly found dead one mornin
near a railroad crossing. No on
ever questioned as to how the vic
president was killed. the crossin
being a VIGOROUSLY dangerous one
but it could not be denied that tn
accident helped the apple orchar
company out of an embarrassin
financial predicament. For it ha
had the life of its vice presiden
insured for $4,000.
"Yes, we have some might
strange cases in our files" said a
important insurance official, as h
escorted the reporter about appar
emily miles of offices the other da,
you'd be surprised. We even writ
policies through a foreign firm in
surfing people against rain, in tn
case of important functions. an
we have one man on our book.
who. already the head of a larg
family, is insured against havin
twins Then, l don't know whethe
your readers would be intereste
in it or not, but one of the chic
causes of accidents upon which w
must pay insurance is a slipper
bathtub."