LIFE INSURANCE AND BUSINESS.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 November 1921, Page 4

LIFE INSURANCE AND BUSINESS.

(Alercaniile (kizette.) , Till- average business man dues not always look n|am a lift* insnrami' snli-,-itor \v itJi a flit lolly rye. It should In? imti’d, however. that a good hnsiio'ss man wisely obtains much ‘rover’ ns lo- c-iui roaMmahly carry. I siially when a Inisini'Ks man succumbs the canvasser flatters himself nil his selling wli-erea-, the man of i-omnii-rcc who really thinks things oi't deliberately takes up another policy. A h'lding executive none j said that he never failed lo see any caller because some of his hest inhumation. was obtained irom those who solleht to sell him somethin};. In tin : same way the business man who fails to investigate the possibilities of life insurance, and turns down the over-' lores that are made to him without a. hearing, is lacking in judgment. In olden times: the main plea of the insurance canvasser was that a policy should he taken out. as a means, of domestic protection. Even to-day. probably most life insurance is sold oil the ; lim iple that a man wants to provide for his deoendeiits and that aim is .1 laudable one. Hut a new field has opened up. thanks to the more progressive men who are now engaged in the insurance business.' dost here we wold ! like to state that it is not many years

since the average insurance canvasser was a misfit who had tailed in most other railings. When lie had tried various occupations without success h p then turned his ellnets as a last resort to life insurance. It is uiifni tiiuiitc that the business to some extent still rests under a cloud as a result ol the poor class of man engaged in the p«s( |luring recent years the mare substantial and more cut uprising companies lutive afforded uc-oorlunities for keen intelligent men to lake up the work.

and we now have ill many towns men who are specialists in nil matters relating to life insui’aiiee. II is to (.his class we more particularly rcter when we state that the business men should accord a fair hearing to such edict's It is realised to-day that it is ill the best interests of business enter| rises

that udeqoaUi insurance should he placed on the lives of those executive officials whose brains, energy and capita! are essential lo the success el the business. I low often dues il happen that through the sudden death of a single individual, the financial alfairs of a company are placed in jeep-fidy’ Again, the persuualit v ol a man alien makes a business. The man may lathe owner or la- may lie the manager, bill whatever his position, if his guiding hand is essential lor the voltaic 1 tilt- business, his life should he insured so that ill the event- of his death, the owner should receive some roiupen-a-[it a 1 fin the lass sustained. The only wav lo replace a good man is by securing another jusl as competent and siu-h is not always an easy matter. \dditional capital to tide over tlu- i-uii-.-ein would probably he ol substantial assistance. It is ilist as logical to insure the brains and the business- management of a company as it is to insure the stock, mut few men look at the mutter from that point of view. H one suggested that the buildings, plant stock and machinery in a modern lactory should not lie insured, the management would look aghast, but furiously enough the same people "nut to c'uvi r themselves in the ease of tuo loss of the maii or the men who are the driving force of the business. It is a matter of education and a vast Held awaits the life insurance company that develops this angle of the insurance business on the right lines. In the ease of a partnership, where the amount of capital is limited, it is probable that in most instances the untimely death of' a partner would prove disastrous. The withdrawal of his share of the capital would cripple the business Vet it is a simple matter to cover the ,-isk hv taking out a policy to cover the firm, lty this method too the dependents of the deceased have a sum ,-eadv in liquid cash, instead of having to wait until the business is sold 01 liquidated with the possibility of hiss through a forced sale. Peril a (is the most important point with a business man is the credit value of life insurance. \ cry often credit is extended to a concern because of the elinrarter and ability of the man at th e helm. 11 is death may mean the curtailment of the accommodation. Instances are numberless where insurance would possibly not only have saved creditors from loss, but surviving partners from failure and families from distress. In the opinion of one leading banker, the import mice of file insurance as a support to hanking credit is somewhat overlooked, lie stated that while it may add much t<> a customer's financial responsibility, flic placing of adequate insurance shews forethought, thrift and conservatism- qualities which, all point- to the fact- that the moral risk is sound —and consequently naturally increases our confidence in the borrower. It is a bad policy for any business to expose a serious hazard what is one of its most important assets, the eontint ing earning power of the titan or men who administer its affairs. This, value should he protected hv insurance just as carefully as any other -assets of the undertaking. Such protection finds its ii-w.-ird in a sounder and more denendalile credit, as well as the avoidance of a multiplicity of difficulties.

Another aspect of insurance of interest 1 0 the business man is the probate policy which provides sufficient ready money to pay estate duties and that kind of tliine. The finding of a large sum of liquid capital in the event of a man’s death, is often somewhat- embarnssing to his dependents especially where theiri share of the estate is locked up in a business. There are other 1 onsiderations in connection with life insurance, hut sufficient attention to I lie value of this form of investment.