Life Insurance

Life Insurance.

At the end of 1949 there were approximately 80,000,000 people in the United States carrying protection of legal reserve life insurance.

Gain in amount of life insurance purchased in 1949 exceeded all previous records as did size of funds which went to policyholders and beneficiaries throughout the nation in the form of policy benefits. The total legal reserve life insurance protection at the year's end was $213,400,000,000, a net gain for the year of 6.01 per cent. Of this total, about 66 per cent represented ordinary coverage; 15 per cent, industrial insurance coverage; and 19 per cent, group coverage.

Policyholders and beneficiaries in the United States during 1949 received payments or credits under life insurance policies in legal reserve life insurance companies which totaled $3.5 billion. Of these benefits, approximately 43 per cent represented death claim payments to beneficiaries of deceased policyholders. Benefits of about $400,000,000 were received under accident and health contracts. All types of payments increased over 1948 and all, except surrender values and disability values, were at all-time peak levels.