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Show ; Life Insurance and Marriage Ideals , - PARIS. Jan. 5. R. Blancharcl, a ' member of tho American Chamber of Commerce, hns prepared mi interesting comparison of tho lifo iusurnnco systems sys-tems of America, France and England to show tho national characteristics of ihe three peoples in tho matter of insurance, in-surance, lie points out from tho figures from three American companicaj eleven French and tivo British companies that in America tho percentage (iu amount) of "limited" or "lifo payment" to "endownjont" insurance is about 11 to 5; in England, G to 4, whereas in France tho proportion of endovvmont insuranoo exceeds life payment by Jl to i 2. This striking contrast he attributes to the difference which exists between the Anglo-Saxo nand French conception concep-tion of tho value of tho lifo insurauco contrast, which, he sa3's, can bo traced to the reat differences which underlie tho socinl lifo of tho three countries. m m This difference, ho thinks, can best bo illustrated in tho matter of marriago. The French marriage is basod upon the idea of founding s famil' for the eu-joyment eu-joyment of tho ease and culturo resulting result-ing from tho present ntato of civilization. civiliza-tion. Tho Anglo-Saxon marriage, on the contrarj-, being based primarily upon the Jove tie. regardless of muterial considerations, Btimulatcs independence of action and readiness to embark upon any enterprise involving transfer to any clime that promises success. Tho Fronch family, with tho dowry of the wife and financial prospects both present and future of husband and wifo carefully calculated in advance, is a domestic insurance in-surance society, while tho Anglo-Saxon, especially the Amorican, Tnmily is-hardly is-hardly 6uro without a provident policy in some insurance company. Tho lack of material provision .for tho maintenance mainte-nance of a family in the American marriage mar-riage code, therefore, compels immediate imme-diate insurance, and as it is taken out as a matter of protection, tho majority seek low premiumH nnd a large amount of insurance, trusting to their own propitious pro-pitious star to protect their family during dur-ing their lifetime. The French policy-holder, on iho con- trary, looking .forward to the- enjoj1- ment of the proceeds of a maturing policy pol-icy during his own lifetime, takes out insurance primarily as an investment, eonsidorjng a policy a good financial transaction if it amounts to a capitalization capital-ization approximately equal to what tho usual French "gilt-edged" securities (usually 3 per cent) could yield. Heuec this preference for endowment policies. As his lifo partner is provided for in the marringe settloment and tho Frenchman French-man ib seldom deeply involved in financial finan-cial or industrial risks, the American practice of Uiking out insurance to protect pro-tect the wife or to provide rosources to cover business ventures, is seldom' practiced prac-ticed in Franco. This is why the law of 1005 compels all companies doitig business in J-raucu to mako the most detailed reports comparing the actual percentage yielded by their investment with the rate of interest assumed as a basis for calculated reserves and premiums, and a comparison of tho actual ac-tual death rate of policy-holders with the estimated death iato upon whieh reserves arid premiums are calculated. |
