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Show News of the Insurance World w Experiences of Life Agents. Insurance men say that thoro are more odd stories In tho llfo insuranco business than in any other, "but," as one authority puts It, "like grave digging experience, they are seldom told to any but the favored fow." A recent edition of tho Insurance In-surance Field relates the following stories anont the vicissitudes of modern llfo Insuranco In-suranco underwriting: "A Bufalo man, now in the Insuranco business himself, was for a long time unabla to get any llfo insurance. Ho was too sensitive to tho approaches of tho examiner. ex-aminer. He had been ono of tho huskiest husk-iest of young fellows, had packed goods in a Pacific coast mining vonturo and was still as hale as over, but when tho stethoscope was plnccd on his broad breast he fainted dead away. A fow days ago a Uuffalo agent lost a $50,000 policy because his applicant wan also afraid of tho examining doctor. Every tlmo his wrist wna touched professionally his pulse would soar up into thrco figures. Another An-other examiner mado a special test of him. however, found that his pulsso was unruffled oven when he got into a tight placo with his automobile and another company took tho risk. A Buffalo llfo agent once complained that his company wa3 too much given to going by rule-Ono rule-Ono of its rcgulution-T was not to accept an applicant who spat blood, and it was adhered to all the same when It was found that an otherwise perfect risk has infringed the rule from having picked his teeth too severely. It is not a good plan to i-eject certain applicants, and many an agent or examiner has tortured his Imagination lo squirm out of a flat confession of the real state of IhingB. Tho task is about as difficult as the breaking of tho news of a sudden death to the bereaved family. If anyone knows of an easy way of Informing applicants that, thoy have heart weakness, tho exact method should be copyrighted and offered for sale." Companies to Ecsist Claims. Four surcrcons havo been concerned with the autopsy following the death of .Tamos P.. Lucas, who is thought to have shot himsolf on a train recently In Missouri. Mis-souri. Ono surgeon has declared that Lucas shot himself, and the other thrco havo reserved their decisions. a ho agents of various accident companies which had issued $00,000 of insuranco on the life of Lucas nro ptf paring their cases In possible resistance ot tho claims. The Missouri stato law in playing an Important Import-ant pnrt in this ns well as other cases which have been noticed recently. The courts have held that unless II. can he provod that suicide was contemplated hv 'the Insured at thu time ho took out tho policy, the money mutt bo paid. Hie clause in accident policies stating that suicide wlthlng ti year following the dale of the policy would invalidate the contract, con-tract, has not served as a protection to tho companies, an when tested In tho conns It was found that tho companies could not prove that self-destruction was promodltatcd by tho Insured. On two occasions tho Missouri legislature i lu passed an cnu'.ndmer.t to tho law making it lnappilCUUH.' W UA.V.IUV.... ... both umendments were votood by tho go-crnor. go-crnor. i In "the preHcnt ca?e, however, tho Insurance In-surance m;n hopo to be able to proo suicide. The plan to show that Lucas was morose for nearly two months prior to hlH death: that hie financial affairs were under Investigation by tho Mei-chanu' Mei-chanu' exchange: that he speculated unsuccessfully, un-successfully, and thatho hnd taken most of his Insurance, amounting to JS&.ooo, during four days of last June. II Former Secretary Joseph V. Smith of tho state organization, who Is now in tho cast, and who was also elected a delegate, dele-gate, will attend tho convention, too, providing- he can make the necessary ar- I rangoments. (Nell T. Sills of Richmond, Va.. president of tho national association, was stricken last wook with a severe attack of grip, which was at first thought to be typhoid fever. This proved to be a mistake how-evor, how-evor, and Mr. Sills has announced that ho will be on deck Tuesday. Insurance Notes. "W. X. Old has been appointed general agent of tho California State Life of Sacramento Sac-ramento for Arizona. The Colorado insuranco dopartment has ruled that to sell stock In any proposed insurance company the commissioner's permission will have to be secured and the ngonts will be required to obtain licenses. li-censes. Henry E. Ido, assistant secretary of tho Homo Llfo of Now York, and a brother broth-er of Qeorgo TD. Ide, president of the same company, died lost wook. aged 03 years. I-'Yodcrio 'Williams of Denver, special agent for the New Zealand Firo Insurance Insur-ance company, was In Salt Lake last week. President Kipp of the life underwriters' association has called a meeting for Saturday, Sat-urday, Soptomber 20, at the Commercial club. Tho meeting will be preceded by tho regular noon-day luncheon. Miss Merle Coroy, former cashier of the Phoenix Mutual and Columbian National Na-tional In this city, and who was recently succeeded by Miss Enid M. Moffat of Denver, has acceptod a position of trust with tho Continental Llfo and begins her now duties today. A. Gallachcr of this city, formerly collector for tho Mountain States Telo-phono Telo-phono & Tolograph company, but more recently with, tho Pacific Coast Casualty, has accepted tho position, ol special rop-resontatlvo rop-resontatlvo with tho Beneficial Life. Tho New Haven railroad wreck at North Havon, Conn., on September 2. when twenty-threo persons wore killed and seriously injuring upwards of 400 more, Js said to have hit hard a number of accident companies. Tho Aetna of Hartford has known death losses aggregating aggre-gating $36,000. followed by tho Travelers with ?15,000. State Insurance Commissioner Done returned re-turned yesterday from Denver, where along with others, for tho past week he has been engaged In an examination of the claims' records for the western department de-partment of the Continental Casualty. The work wac not completed when Mr. Done left Denver, which will necessitate, his returning to tho Queen City of the Plains the middle of tho present week. IT, L. Nelson. Tt C Hill and W. L. Warren, agents for the Now York Lifo, havo roturncd from a successful confer-oncft confer-oncft of agents and homo officials held at Hot Springe, Vu All wero delighted with tho trip and wore unanimous lu tho declaration that Hot Springs Is an Ideal spot to hold a convention. "The most boautlful place I over saw in my life," said Mr. Nelson yesterday. |