bond of any person required by law to give a bond, may accept as a surety upon the bond any such company which has been licensed to do business in this state, and, if satisfied with the financial ability of the company, he need not require other sureties," and section (4 of the same chapter reads, "A court or officer whose duty it is to pass upon the account of any person required by law to give a bond, may, whenever the person has procured any such company as surety upon his bond, allow a reasonable sum for the expense of procuring such surety in the settlement of his account." This law is a Godsend to the unfortunate individuals called upon very often to act as sureties for their neighbors, and there has been a decided increase in this line of business during the past year. sioner. FRATERNAL BENEFICIARY ASSOCIATIONS. A general law for the government of associations of this kind was enacted by the last legislature. It defines a fraternal association as a corporation, organized on the lodge plan, with a ritual and a representative form of government. Associations incorporated under the laws of other states and countries of this class can be admitted to New Hampshire on filing with the commissioner a statement of their condition, copies of charter and by-laws, and a power of attorney to make service on the commisThe fee for filing statement on admission is five dollars, and for license, five dollars; a renewal of the same and for filing statement annually, five dollars each. No provision is made for the appointment of agents except to aid in the organization of lodges. Three associations were admitted since the publication of the last report, viz.: Knights of Columbus, of Hartford, Independent Order of Foresters, of Toronto, Canada, and the United Benevolent Society, of Saginaw, Mich. One association, the Endicott Rock of Manchester, dropped out during the year. The entire number authorized to date is twenty-six. The abstracts of the statements of twenty-four of them are published in this report. The membership of the combined orders within the state on the date mentioned was 15,010. The amount paid by members in the state was $290,000, and the amount paid to beneficiaries within the state was $267,000. The number of claims paid was 152. The entire membership of the twenty-four orders within and without the state was 672,921. The number of deaths during the year was 8,095. The gross income of the associations was $18,517,402. The amount paid for losses was $17,228,614, and for other expenditures, $887,024. The assets on December 31, 1894, amounted to $1,807,878. There has been a handsome gain in membership and assets during the year, and from the date of filing their first statements in this department, not a whisper has been heard against their management. ASSESSMENT INSURANCE. The act of 1891 relating to corporations of this class, better known as the "Barber Law," was amended by the last legislature by providing requirements for the admission of companies and associations of other states transacting life insurance business on the assessment plan. Casualty companies of this class are required to possess invested assets to the amount of fifty thousand dollars, and companies doing a life business on the same plan, one hundred thousand dollars. Each company before being licensed is required to file with the insurance commissioner a certificate under oath of its president and secretary that it is paying, and for the twelve months then next preceding has paid, the maximum amount named in its certificate, in full, and that an assessment upon its policy-holders will produce a sum equal at least to the maximum certificate written by the corporation; evidence that it has accumulated, and maintains as a trust fund for the benefit of certificate-holders only, a fund equal at least to the amount which one assessment upon said certificate-holders would produce; and a certificate from its proper home authority that corporations of this state, of a similar character, are legally entitled to do business in such state. They are also obliged to file all papers called for in the law of 1891, and are subject to the payment of the same fees and taxes as are required of all foreign corporations, by Chapter 169, Public Statutes. Four associations have qualified and were licensed since the enactment of this law, viz.,-the Mutual Reserve Fund Life Association of New York, Hartford Life & Annuity Insurance Co. of Hartford, Conn., Massachusetts Benefit Life Association of Boston, Mass., and the Northwestern Masonic Aid Association of Chicago, Ill. In providing requirements for associations of this kind, the legislature has disposed of a question which has been the occasion of no end of trouble for the insurance department. The commissioner had the power under the law of 1891 to exercise some discretion in relation to their admission, but he did not desire to assume to do what the legislature ought to have done in 1891, and did do in 1895, namely, provide requirements for their admission under the amended law. This part of the business is made clear, and companies that can comply with the requirements will have no difficulty in being licensed. INSURANCE LEGISLATION OF 1895. The only enactments relating to insurance placed on the statutes this year were, one mentioned elsewhere defining fraternal insurance and providing for the admission of associations of that class, organized under the laws of other states, and the following, three in number, which are published here entire for the benefit of all interested. AN ACT in amendment of chapter 56 of the Laws of 1891, entitled "An act placing certain corporations, associations, societies, and orders under the jurisdiction of the insurance commissioner." SECTION 1. Any corporation organized under the authority of any other state or country, and engaged in the business of life or casualty insurance upon the assessment plan, whether mutual or joint stock company, which does not contract to pay living policy holders or members any fixed benefit save for bodily injury or physical disability, from any cause, shall upon filing with the insurance commissioner copies, statements, and agreements, required by chapter 56 of the Laws of 1891, and upon payment of the same fees and taxes as are required of foreign insurance companies, be licensed by the insurance commissioner to do business in this state, upon furnishing in addition to other requirements, a certificate under oath of its president and secretary, that it is paying, and for the twelve months then next preceding has paid, the maximum amount named in its policies or certificates in full, and that an assessment upon its policy holders or members will produce a sum equal at least to the maximum policy or certificate written by the corporation; evidence that it has accumulated, and maintains as a trust for the benefit of policy or certificate holders only, a fund equal at least to the amount which one assessment or mortuary call upon said certificate or policy holders would produce; and for corporations engaged in the business of life insurance, of not less than one hundred thousand dollars, and of casualty insurance of not less than fifty thousand dollars invested as provided in section 2 of chapter 169 of the Public Statutes; and a certificate from the proper authority of its home, state, or country that corporations of this state, engaged in the business of life or casualty insurance on the assessment plan, are legally entitled to do business in such state or country. All companies after they are licensed under the provision of this act shall in all respects be subject to the provisions of chapter 169 of the Public Statutes, entitled "Foreign insurance companies and their agents." SECT. 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. SECT. 3. This act to take effect upon its passage. AN ACT in amendment of chapter 169, Public Statutes, relating to foreign insurance companies and their agents. SECTION 1. Section 14, chapter 169, Public Statutes, is hereby amended by striking out the sentence, "If any company shall refuse or neglect to so pay such tax, the commissioner may revoke its license," and substitute the following,-When, by the laws of any other state or country any taxes, fines, penalties, licenses, fees, deposits, or other obligations or prohibitions, additional to, or in excess of, those imposed by this state upon companies not organized under the laws of this state and their agents doing business in this state, are imposed upon insurance companies of this state and their agents doing business in such state or country, the same taxes, fines, penalties, licenses, fees, deposits, or other obligations or prohibitions, shall be imposed upon all insurance companies of such state or country and their agents doing business in this state, so long as such laws remain in force. If any such company shall refuse or neglect to pay any tax, fine, penalty, license, or fee imposed by the laws of this state, or fail to comply with any other requirement thereof, the commissioner may revoke its license." SECT. 2. This act shall take effect from its passage. AN ACT providing penalties for the violation of trusts by the officers and employés of insurance companies. SECTION 1. If any officer of an insurance company, organized under the laws of this state, shall embezzle, abstract, or wilfully misapply any of the moneys, funds, or other securities of the company, or shall represent as the property of the company any moneys, funds, or other securities which belong to others, or shall make any false entry in any book, report, or statement of the company with the intent in either case to injure or defraud it, or to deceive any of its officers or the insurance commissioner, or any other person or persons appointed to examine its affairs, he shall be fined not exceeding ten thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding ten years. SECT. 2. If any officer or employé of any such insurance company shall directly or indirectly receive any fee, present, or benefit whatsoever from any borrower or applicant for a loan from such company as an inducement for making a loan or from anyone negotiating securities to the company (except the usual compensation for drawing mortgages and other papers pertaining to the loan) or for negotiating loans in their own behalf as officials of the company, he shall be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars, or be imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. SECT. 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. |