The Washington herald., 1921-01-26
THRIFTY PEOPLE
BUY INSURANCE
FOR PROTECTION
Massachusetts, Mutual
c Report Shows Such
Tendencies.

One of the outstanding features
of the sixty-ninth annual report Of
President William w. McClench in
behalf of the directors of the Mas
sachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
Company is the gain in the amount
of new business delivered and paid
for, in a year in which the process
of defation was making itself felt
in most lines of business, according
to the Springfield Union. The pre-
vious year. when money was flowing
plentifully, greatly exceeded all pre-
vious records in the volume of new
life insurance. 1t was not expected
that this volume would be main.
tained in year of general retrench-
ment, yet the Massachusetts Mutual
wrote new business to the extent
of $157,SOO,223, which exceeded that
Of the previous year by S26,696,45J.
The significance of these figures is
apparent when one considers the
conditions obtaining throughout the
country during the greater part of
1920. They afford convincing proof
that in practising economy and
thrift the people turned to life in
surance as an institution offering
them stabiliZing influence and pro-
noting a comfortable sense of Sc
Curity. II in times OF exceptional
prosperity the people wisely put a
large share of their superfuous
earnings into life insurance, the wis
dom of doing so at time when the
future seemed less secure was for
chilly impressed upon them.
People Appreciate Protection.
While public education with re-
spect to the beneficent character Of
life insurance has by no means been
| completed, never can be. in fact,
there is abundant evidence that the
| people appreciate as never before
tn protection and feeling of con-
tentmcnt that this form of insur-
ance gives them.
To what extent the report OF
| President McClench reflects the ex-
| perience of other life insurance
| companies during a year of upset
| conditions and financial perplexities
| cannot, of course, be forecasted. but
it seems probable that most of them
will be able to exhibit a somewhat
similar record Of growth and steady
/ progress. How aver, on looking over
! the previous annual statements of
| the Massachusetts Mutual is that
| almost without a single exception
each year has shown a substantial
gain in all those items that d eter-
mine the strength, stability and ca
! paCity for service of an insurance
company. We have already noted
the gain in new business for 1920
over 1919, but the admitted assets
show a gain even more marked
Whereas the statement for the
previous year showed an increase
in assets Of $4.OO4.77S. the increase
for 1920 is $13.O56.S47. and there
was disbursPd in dividends to pol
icyholders *596,9OS more.
Large Gains shown.
The amount of insurance in force
shows a gain of $127.675.1S6. and
the gain In the number OF policies
is 1880. The amount of the policy
reserve increased by $II.59I.272.
and now stands at s1l6.39S,SS3
The mortality experience, 81 per
cent of the expected. was little
more favorable than that of the pro
| Ceding year, and the ratio of cx-
| P'hSe" ~ IN 'oldI receipts OF
premiums. interest and rents. 1885
per cent remains substantially the
same. The company closed the var
with no interest on any mortgage
loan due and unpaid, and with no
mortgage in the process of fore
| closure.
The prediction of President Nc
| Clench that the present year will
be the most successful in the his
tory of the company is based not
only on the probabilities justin ID
by experience. but on the fact that
the Importance of life insurance
as an agency for good in our social
and economic life is becoming con-
stantly more clearly recognized"