Medical statistics of life assurance : being an inquiry into the causes of death among the members of the Scottish Amicable Life Assurance Society, from 1826 till 1860 : and a comparative analysis of the diseases which have proved fatal among the assured in several societies, and among the general population of England, with remarks on the medical selection of lives for assurance / by J.G. Fleming.

  • Fleming, John Gibson, 1809-1879.
Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Medical statistics of life assurance : being an inquiry into the causes of death among the members of the Scottish Amicable Life Assurance Society, from 1826 till 1860 : and a comparative analysis of the diseases which have proved fatal among the assured in several societies, and among the general population of England, with remarks on the medical selection of lives for assurance / by J.G. Fleming. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ing out of which large pecuniary and complicated family or com- mercial arrangements may be involved, cannot be over-estimated. The first and paramount duty of the Medical Adviser to a Life Assurance Society, is to guard the interests of the Insti- tution for which he acts. The success of Life Assurance business chiefly depends on the selection of lives which are free from disease, and not more than usually liable to disease from personal constitution, hereditary predisposition, habits, occupation, pre- vious attacks of illness, or any other cause. The delicate and often very difficult duty of weighing these points, and determin- ing how far, in reference to them, an applicant ought to be accepted or declined, devolves on the Medical Adviser of the Institution. Wlnle never losing sight for a moment of his main duty, the protection of the Society for which he acts, he is bound to perform the important trust confided to him in a fair and liberal spirit—to exercise, in many cases, the functions of a judge as much as those of a counsel—and never to pronounce an opinion capriciously, and without sufficient and well-grounded, reasons, upon the case of any one who aj)phes to have his life assured. It is a very serious matter to any man to be declared ineligible for assurance. Ml medical men of experience in assurance business know how frequently applicants present themselves for examination who are labouring under ailments of a slight and chronic character, or who have suffered from diseases, or may be liable, from hereditary tendency to diseases, regarding the effects of which, on general health and longevity, we have no veiy fixed or well-established medical princijDles or statistical facts to guide us. It is principally from accumulated experience and authenticated data, that we can expect to acquire such know- ledge as will enable us to balance and decide equitably for all parties, to what extent, certain ailments, predispositions, and collateral circumstances ought to influence our opinion in the selection of lives.