Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-08

akin psychologically to purchasing ones
own CONN or tombstone. Now, the in
surance salesman has tollier APP
proach; he proposes that the customer
buy insurance to insure q comfortable
old age with perhaps more comforts
than he has known before and at least
economic security.
these reasons. The American people
are especially susceptible TO advertising
and the vast amount Of free advertising
which insurance received during the
war unquestionably helped a lot In
bringing home to the average American
mind the idea of becoming insured.
The Governments war risk insurance
which was placed on the lives OF 4,00O,-
600 soldiers and the hundreds Of
thousands of newspaper columns of dis
cuSsion referring to 1t could not have
failed to impress many people who
never had given insurance much
thought before.
That this had much to do with the
fantastic growth of the last decade Is
strongly suggested by the fact that
while it took 90 years Of organized In
surance effort prior to 1922 to reach
the $4,000, 100000 mark, the second
$50, 600, 000, 900 was piled UP in the en-
| suing six and one.hah years-the lat
war and after the permeation Of the
Government insurance idea.
Stringent Regulation and Supervision.
In the past 10 years the total amount
of insurance written was $129, 875, 900, =
coo. Insurance is, in a national sense,
revolving fund. While this huge sum
was being written and premiums paid
upon 1t, the insurance companies were
paying out large sums in claims and
benefits. So while during the decade
q total of $129,875 100000 was being
paid in, the steady outgo kept the
| amount in actual force at any one time
below the 100000, 900 mark until
| last Summer.
The writing of insurance Is accelerat-
ing and presumably each year will see
q larger proportion Of the total in the
! form Of the endowment sort, that which
the purchaser enjoys while still living.
In 1928 new insurance written amount
ed to $18,610, 100000. Compare this
with new insurance written 30 years
earlier-in 1908. In that year new In
surance amounted to only $2,063, 000,-
900. While that was considered big, it
was only one-ninth Of the 1928 new
business. And the flrst three quarters
of 1929 shows a further gain OF 8 per
cent.
Full confidence In the solidity of in
Surance companies and the integrity
Of ofilcials and agents has had great
deal to do with the big increase. A
quarter Of century ago there were oc-
casional frauds on the part of COM
panies which put the business in bad
/ odor with many people. Since then
largely as the result of the big inveSti-
CATION Of companies in New York, where
so many of the larger organizations are
located-conhdence has been restored
through the enactment of stringent laws
relating to regulation and supervision.
Blanket industrial insurance has
added tremendously to the total in
force. Under this system a company
employing q large number Of persons
will take out q policy covering every
employee, the proceeds going to the de-
pendents of that employe upon death
or disability. In some cases. a small
dividend-much smaller than In case
Of an individual policy-is deducted
from the employees wages; In other
cases the employing company pays the
whole premium without seeking reim-
burSement.
The hu"e sums paid in to insurance
companiel in premiums by the Amer
lean people 60 toward the upbuilding Of
the community because these funds are
invested In sound, constructive and pro-
ductive enterprises which add to the
common wealth.