Show I CATCH UP ON WAR WARM ORK WORK Period of Congestion and Vexatious Vexatious Vex- Vex Delays Is Virtually at an End ANSWER WITH VilT REAL LETTERS Strides of Great teat Importance Made In Bringing Insurance Business of Bureau to to toan an Absolutely Current Basis Washington Announcement Is ls made b by Director R. R G G. G Jones of the bureau of war risk insurance Ins Insurance rance r- r ance that the thc Insurance division of the bureau Is virtually at the en end of ot Its period of congestion and consequent consequent consequent conse conse- quent dissatisfaction and vexatious delays resulting from the great volume volume volume vol vol- ume of work suddenly thrown upon It by the demobilization of ot the armed forces during the past year Former service men are arc assure assured that they will be bo answered promptly from now on with real letters Instead of with form paragraphs or unsatIsfactory unsatisfactory unsatisfactory factory form letters In all cases which require detailed and specific answers This Is the first time that the bureau has been In a n position to give this as as- Strides of ot great Importance to the millions of former service men and their relatives an and beneficiaries have been made toward bringing the Insurance insurance In In- business of the bureau to an absolutely current basis in the prompt answering of mail mall and acknowledgment ment of premiums paid The records of accumulated work disposed of sh show w conclusively such an enormous and distinctive improvement in the expediting expediting expediting of the business that it is confidently confidently con con- con con- believed that within the next month the insurance division will be giving as rapid and accurate service as do any efficiently managed organizations organizations za lons il In commercial life Catch Up on Mail Mall For example the number of ed premiums which last Oct October ber was approximately has Just been reduced to an average of or orless orless orless less than one days day's work worle With other other other oth oth- er necessary operations in the handling handling handling hand hand- ling of remittances a receipt will be besent besent besent sent out in a few days from the date ate of the original receipt of the remit remIt- tance Unanswered ered mail mall in the Insurance division shows a reduction of of approximately approximately GO 60 per cent from the the lily dally balance of five months ago Probably it will be two or three weeks before it will be possible to answer all the letters as quickly as it t Is now possible to mall mail out receipts for premiums It ItIs ItIs Its Is s a matter of only a few weeks however however how how- ever before the answering of all nIl letters letters let let- tern In reference to insurance within four fou days of their receipt in the bureau bureau bureau bu bu- bu- bu reau will be the regular practice In the meantime it t is Inevitable that there will be some impatience on th the part pirt of those service men who In Inthe inthe the past have experienced difficulty In adjusting their Insurance matters with the bureau as a result of delay or unsatisfactory unsatisfactory unsatisfactory un un- un- un satisfactory Information but the progress progress ress res now being made In Indicates conclusively conclusively conclusively con con- that these vexatious cases will be cleared up speedily and that thereafter although there will always of necessity as in an any large organization tion be occasional errors and delays In the business In the bureau of war risk Insurance these difficulties will willbe willbe be reduced to a relatively insignificant Insignificant insignificant cant minimum In order to cope with the great flood of mail mall which came to the bureau coincident coincident co co- co incident with demobilization of the armed forces each of the letters requiring requiring re reo re- re quiring searching of the records which In many cases was done by in inexperienced inexperienced in- in experienced personnel It w was s necessary necessary sary to resort to form l and paragraph l letters In answering inquiries In struggling with the volume of excess mall mail which piled plied up In the bureau there is no que question Uon but that a large percentage of it was answered improperly erl erly improperly and frequently delayed Many Letters Returned In a lar large arSe e proportion of the cases the service J men themselves being unfamiliar un un- familiar with the necessity of giving full information about their cases cei car numbers full names dates of discharge etc rendered it Impossible impossible impossible sible to answer prope properly ly their inqui Inqui- ries Ties Others failed to give proper addresses addresses addresses ad ad- dresses with the result that today numbers of letters ad addressed to former former former for for- mer service men meIl by the bureau arc are being returned by postmasters from all parts paris of ot the country conn try accompanied by statements that It Is impossible to find the ud addressee addressee- ressee Fragmentary or Insufficient Insufficient insufficient Information also Inevitably resulted resulted resulted re re- In the of premiums premi premi- premiums due ue to In halt ok of Identification Some Idea of the enormity of the Job may be gah gained ed from the fact that the most recent figures show that the total number of applications for Insurance in insurance insurance In- In received by the bu bureau cau was totaling the premiums to March Murch 1020 totaling approximately approximately ap op- ap- ap proximately For a n long period perlo It was necessary ary for the bureau to typewrite all of its ls addresses This meant reference to a aro ro rocc-d rocc d In each case multiplying the chances of errors and entailing an enormous amount of In labor or With such an unprecedented business Q QI asI at as I came In the bureau bur au was flooded with application Inquiries remittances r I ta tc- ani 3 was a physical for the bureau to mall mail to emit earh of the lie men on Its list Information Information information mation relative to the changes In rulIngs rulings rul rul- ings lugs etc as rapidly as the they were Issued To make even one complete mailing to each of or the millions of addresses addresses addresses ad ad- dresses and at the same time to cope with the work worl of the bureau was an almost Insuperable task Naturally much complaint developed on the ground that service I men were unable to get Information about what the bureau of w war r risk Insurance was offering offering of of- fering or was doing Handicaps Overcome Very serious handicaps in the a addressing addressing ad ad- dressing of the men have haye just been overcome Through a special appropriatIon appropriation made by congress the bureau has been enabled to put Its entire list of ot former service men on graph plates a n task which has required e ed several months and which has completely completely completely com com- monopolized the plate making a section of a great factory In the bureau of war risk insurance Itself ocer o over nine hun hundred red people have been employed In n putting the names and md addresses on the plates In addition to enabling the bureau to make maim full fun mailings of Its Us most Important Important important Im Im- im- im information to former service servicemen servicemen servicemen men and women the sending out of premium notice has been enormously enormous enormous- ly facilitated The new system of printing both the premium notice and the premium receipt at the sate sane time from the thc a l plate and by filing the tho returned notice notice notice no no- tice In place of the premium receipt to credit the Individual account with the remittance reduces to a minimum the possibility of misapplication of premiums received Additional safeguard safeguard safeguard safe safe- guard rests in the fact that each ad- ad plate carries the certIficate certificate cate or policy number and amI the amount of premium regularly due from the service man This prevents the errors errors errors er er- er- er that previously occurred through repeated copying with a typewriter In a great business where there arc are more than thirty million records In including in- in the nam names s of more than fifty thousand Johnstons Johnsons etc and proportionately large numbers of Smiths and Browns occasional errors errors errors er er- er- er and misunderstandings were ere bound boun to develop but the ironing ironing- out Ironing ling ling- but lit process is now s so well wen under way vay that even such discrepancies will be rapidly rapid rapid- ly Iy corrected Difficulties R Reduced The promptness with filth th which premium premium pre pre- e- e notices can cnn nov now be mailed Is Ise ex expected to obviate largely the difficulties difficulties 11 ties and vexations which hitherto have been occasioned by premium notices notices notices no no- tices being mailed where the payments had already been made Prompt receipting receiptIng receipting re re- for premiums which now Is possible and will be carried out will largely do away with this difficulty except of course course where notices sent out in a previous month are forwarded forward forward- ed before the current payments could be credited Issuance of the Insurance policies for the permanent converted government government government govern govern- ment life insurance which are desired desired de de- sired by all the men who are are insured Insure has be been n delayed pending the completion completion completion comple comple- tion which now has been passed The new policies are now being complete completed completed com com- by the actuarial and legal legal experts experts experts ex ex- and sent to the government printing office and it is expected that they will wiIl be mailed out before June 1 1 With the insurance business of the bureau on a current basis it t is now anticipated that former service m min ja who have been deterred from keeping up their In Insurance rance by reason of the delays delays de de- e- e lays which they had experienced Inthe in inthe inthe the handling of their accounts will take a advantage vantage of the very liberal provisions provisions provisions pro pro- visions for the reinstatement of war risk insurance b by the payment t of two monthly premiums and a n satisfactory statement of health and will get back backon backon on the th books The new law has ma made e the Insurance Insurance Insurance ance very attractive b by enlarging the list of permitted beneficiaries to In In- In elude clude parent grandparent stepparent step par ent parent through adoption wife o or husband child gran grandchild child stepchild adopted child brother sister hall half brother sister half brother through adoption sister through adoption stepbrother stepsister uncle aunt nephew niece law brother sister sister- law lu a person who has stood In th the relation of a parent to the Insured Insure for a n period of one year ear or more prior to the Insured's enlistment or Induction induction indue tion the children of such person i parent parent par par- ent grandparent step-parent step or parent par par- ent through adoption of the Insured Insure s 's wife or husband Want Permanent Forms It Is also anticipated that the provision provision provision pro pro- vision of the new law which permits permit sum lump-sum payments at the option o othe ot of the Insured on converted policies ordinary ordinary or or- life twenty-payment twenty life thir- thir t payment ty-payment life year 20 endowment 30 year 30 ear cn endowment and endowment at age two sixty-two will greatly Increase the number of conversions Into th the permanent form of government life Insurance More than applications fo for forthe forthe the conversion n of war risk policies Into into into in In- to permanent forms farms already have been bee received Former service Ice men desiring to reInstate reinstate reinstate re re- re- re instate war fisk Isk Insurance which ha has lapsed or been canceled or or to crt convert their nee in cases where it i inow is isnow s snow now In forr force should apply to any pos post of the American rican Legion the Veterans Veteran of oC Foreign Wars or other org organizations organizations of former service men Army Navy y and ond Marine Corps Corp recruiting stations sta- sta sta sta- ons State Insurance Commissioners ners any home service section of the American Amer- Amer American Amerlean Amer Amer- ican lean Red TIed Cross Salvation Army Array Knights of Cohnn Columbus ms Jewish Welfare board Y M. M C. C A. A or to other fraternal frater frater- nol nal of or u-larre u u organizations s which ar arIn are In a position to furnish blanks an and necessary information |