The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1922-03-30
LIFE INSURANCE,
PASTANDPRESENT
President Of Great 0rganiza
tion Points Out Bearing of
System on America
Some New Angles in Insurance
Not Known to General Pub
lie Are Explained
By ROBERT w. HUNTINGTON.


EDlToR's NorE-Men Who haze nis-
en- to execute leadership IN any great
commercial or professional orgdnizd-
tion prope BY their very success their
ability and grasp of the subject to
which their activities are devoted.
Insurance is, or should be, a part Of
epery mans life. The followiHg by
Robert w. Huntington, president of
the Connecticut General Life InSur-
ance company, is an authoritative ar
ticle that should command your at
tention.
Life insurance in this country
started commercially about eighty
years ago. From nothing, in eighty
years it has grown to an insurance in
force of fifty billion dollars and the
reserve liabilities Of the companies
with the surplus held for contingen-
cies amounts to over seven billion
dollars.
The question arises why has it
taken eighty years for the public to
come to the realization of its value
and necessity. The idea was Just as
good eighty years ago as it is now.
The performance was decidedly in
ferior. Starting with little insurance
knowledge and natural fear Of the
unknown, policies were hedged about
with restrictions both as to residence,
travel and occupation and as to the
privileges Of surrender if payment
ceased which while considered neces-
sary at the time and only abolished
by gradual changes, certainly must
have interfered with its early popu,
larity.
Besides this gradual Improvement
in the conditions surrounding any
and all policies, refnements have
come in the plans of policies so that,
whereas, eighty years ago you were
expected to buy a certain kind of pol
icy whether it suited your particular
ituation or not, now the policies have
been fitted to all conceivable stua-
tions, and the agents, from being a
class of men who learned one story
and told it again and again, have
come to be a highly specialized line
of experts, whose business it is to sell
each man the policy which seems to
be most fitted to his wants as they
and he see them.
THE BEST CUSTOMER.
The commonest demand for insur.
ance comes of course from the mar
ried man who must protect his wife
and children against the contingency
of his untimely death. In the old days
this was done by insuring his life fol
a lump sum, usually payable to his
wife in the event Of his death. This
lump sum coming into her hands wa:
frequently unwisely invested OF
squandered. The common way at pre-
sent is to leave an income to one:
wife payable for twenty years GER
tain, which should take pretty gooc
= care of the children during theil
minority, and as long thereafter as
the beneficiary shall live.
A MANS OLD ACE.
Men may also provide for the com
fort Of their own old age as well as
the comfort of their families in case
of their death by buying policy ma
turing at, say age sixty-fve and pay
able in instalments in the same man
ner, If such policy is taken out a
an early age, the premium is no
much greater than for the ordinary
life. When to this policy is added
provision indemnifying for loss o.
time or more than two weeks for any
illness or accident, and in case Of
disability, the keeping Of the policy
in force without further payment o.
premiums by the insured, a mans
family and personal affairs are GOV
cred about as completely as possible
There are however, many othel
uses to which insurance is put. Un
der the statute Of Connecticut, Sec
ton 4l54, insurance companies are
particularly permitted to issue poll
cies payable to any educational, &c
clesiastcal, benevolent, charitable o.
elemosynary corporation which car