PEOPLE WHO PREY UPON INSURANCE COMPANIES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 270, 7 November 1908, Page 3

PEOPLE WHO PREY UPON INSURANCE COMPANIES.

FIFTEEN TIMES A WIDOW. " The body of a man, aged about forty-five," was taken from the Thames near Loudon Bridge this morning. He was dressed in, a brown suit, with grey socks, and was taken to the mortuaiy to await identification." So runs an announcement frequently seen in London newspapers, whereby the foundation of an artful fraud on insurance companies is laid. The scheme is generally carried out in the following way by its promoters, of which there are usually two women ami a man. They know by experience the particular mortuary to call at, ind next morning Probable Relative No. 1 appears, and requests that she may be allowed to view the remains; By a few well-placed questions she learns Unit she is the first one who has called, and, under much distress, makes h. close examination of the clothes and boots, of which she takes a mental note; but she is glad to say she cannot identify the victim, and departs. [ Later, Relative No. 2 comes, breathless, and she find that only ';one other person has called, and, after usual questions, is allowed to view. She has by this time decided whether to claim o v not, for had several been to make inquiries, her chance of 'success is small; but, knowing the first caller, she knows, of a missing button on the waistcoat, or a scar on the forehea.l, which she at once proceeds to look for, and point to as evidence of her relationship. The neighbours know she hasn't seen her husband the last day also, The inquest is held, and, still carefully watching points, she claims the body as belonging to her, and' the death certificate is received from the coroner in due course, with the name and age duly recorded. The burial takes place after a policy or a few months' duration has been presented to the insurance office, and duly paid. During a prosecution in connection with such a fraud, it was proved tint one woman had posed as a widow fifteen times..

An ingenious swindle was attempted some time ago. A bearded man callsd at a housei whieli offered "lodgings," and took a room. After a week or so, he became ill, and requested the landlady to call a doctor, who came, and prescribed for the patient. The ne\t day, a pale man, without a beard, called on the doctor, and asked if it was he who attended a sick man the day before at an address given? The doctor assented. ARRESTED IN THE ACT.

The visitor then announced himself as the brother of the invalid, and regretted to say his brother had died that morning, Would the doctor give him a certificate of death? Seeing the resemblance, the document was made out without demur, for a doctor is not bound to see a person dead before giving his certificate. The applicant departed, made his way to tht registrar of the district, secured the necessary paper for presentation to the insurance company, and was actually inside the offices of the company drawing the money when he was arrested.

The doctor, on his usual round, Had had occasion to call at the same block of buildings, and thought he might as well see the man who had been taken off so suddenly. On getting no answer to ln's knock, he tried the handle, and found the door locked. His suspicions were aroused as he looked at the keyhole, and found it stuffed with paper. A policeman, who was close by, burst the door, and found an empty bed. The "dead" man had been a medical student, who, having fallen into evil way?, prescribed for himself, to deceive the doctor, and had actually shaved his beard, and represented himself as the dead man's brother.

On small—or what is called industrial —.policies, insurance companies do not press for proof of age, and this is frequently a means of their having t; pay out a good deal more than they would were they to demand the date of birth.

There seems to be a special delight to some people in " doing" an insurance company, A person is insured at age fifty, say, for £2O which costs a few pence per week. The agent accepts the age as given him, .but that life is frequently ten or fifteen years on the wrong side. Death occurs. The doctor asks lor the age from those who inform him of the death, and he is given, not the correct age, but the one that will tally with that given to the insurance agent, or the "ctub-iuan," as he is frequently called. The writer has, on more than one occasion, seen a coffin going to the grave with a lie on the lid. Insurance offices give instructions that all " lives " put iorward up to a certain amount arc to be seen by the agent; over that amount, a higher official must see the " life," and sign that it is a good one, in his opinion, A curious instance of this is related in th© North of England. A collier's wife put forward a proposal on his life, and, as tnc agent could not pass the proposal, the superintendent took the case in hand, and an appointment wis made for him to see the collier on his return from work in the evening. Seated at a table, with his supper steaming hot in front of him, was tke collier, with grimy face, and hands. " i'ou look pretty black," said the superintendent. "And so would you," was the retort, " if y'luul to work for a living." The superintendent was closely observant.

"Anyway, just come over here and sign this,"

"That I won't! If you put it down here, in front o' me, I'll do it; but not a step do I move away from my supperl" A DRAMATIC DENOUEMENT. The official walked up to the table, and pulled it away irom the colli about two feet. It was as he suspected. The man was paralysed from the hips downwardl Be careful, dear reader, if you ara over tempted to buy or have assigned to you a policy on another person's life. See the age is admitted by the co-.u-pany in the policy. A man in business may insure his life while he is doing well*. If ever he fails, he may want to raise money on that policy, and, if you happen to he a creditor, it may he offered to you as security for your money, or you may buy it outright. On insurance proposals the question is usually asked, " What evidence "of age will he produced?" and the ageiit taking tho proposal fills ,'n the'answer, "Registrar's certificat•,'' aiurtTi'e proof of age in policies of more than 1)30 is required before the company will pay.

ON LA' II YEARS' DIFFERENCE. A few months ago the writer met a fishmonger to whom a policy had jn?t been assigned in liquidation of a debt of £25. The life was old, and the policy was worth £75; and the fishmonger agreed to accept the policy, for whic.4 he had to pay another £25, making, with the debt, £SO in all, and he undertook to keep the premiums paid. Had he had the age admitted? He was a.lvised that it would be as well to have it done, to save any trouble in the event of dVath. ' After considerable trouble, which took about three weeks, lie found that the only age the company would admit on the policy, from documentary evidence, differed from that on the original proposal by twenty-two years. That policy of £75 is now reduced to £45, and the fishmonger smiles every time the agent calls tor the premium.