Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 April 1886 — Insuring Women’s Lives. [ARTICLE]

Insuring Women’s Lives.

Of the many life insurance companies of this city, says the New York Mail and Express, only one is managed by women in the interests of women. The attorney for the company, when asked by a reporter for some particulars regarding its work, said: “All the officers are ladies of wealth, and they expect no salary. What they claim is that, if a woman desires to insure, she should have the same unrestricted freedom as a man has in such matters. The company was started in 1883, and is now on a paying basis. It has a hundred agents, and its large agency in Philadelphia is managed by a woman. Some of the statistics that wc gather will surprise the public, I think For instance, I have just received the report of the English registrar general for last year. It shows that out of every 1,000 living persons 487 are males and 513 females; that of births, to every 100 females born there are 103 5-100 males; and that at every age of life the death-rate is lower among females than among males. From his figures he shows mat the mean expectation of life of males is 41.32, and of females 44.62. He also finds a diminished death-rate in both sexes, and the improvement in living is shown to be greater in females than in males. This proves a statement made in 1861 by one of the English government actuaries, that on genera! principles, if there should be a general improvement in living, it would first be manifested in females. In this country we find from statistics that the same things prevail This making a special subject of woman insurance has had the effect of inducing women to insure who never before thought of the subject.” “Have there been any attempts made by them to defraud?” “Yes, there have, but where we find • • • 1 1,10 HVUiail ACAI, 11V7 ILIJ ULJ 9 but receiving quite a shock to her nervous system. Within two weeks after, as we found out, she took a two-hundred-mile trip, returning after ten days, and going at her regular business again. After a month or two she presented a claim, together with a doctor’s certificate, and asked for $250 on account, as a partial payment of the liability. For the sake of being liberal we gave her this, thinking that would end the matter of course. But at the end of six months what does this enterprising woman do but present us a bill for indemnity for the entire of that time! We had personal knowledge that she had not been disabled during that time, and it was perfectly evident to everybody that she had not. We refused to give her any more, and she knew so well that she had no claim in law that she gave it up. A curious fact observed about woman insurance is that the moment the applicant learns that there is any doubt about her being accepted she is ten times more eager than ever to be Insured.