Influential Personnel Within the Actuary Division of Metropolitan Life

In 1936, with the appointment of Mr. Craig as Vice-President of Metropolitan Life Insurance in charge of home office operations, Mr. Carpenter became senior actuary in charge of industrial insurance, and Horace R. Bassford became actuary in charge of ordinary insurance. Upon Mr. Carpenter's retirement in 1939, Mr. Bassford took charge of all actuarial operations, and the Division was reorganized along functional lines. In this reorganization under Mr. Bassford, Mr. Reinhard A. Hohaus was appointed "associate actuary" in charge of the group activities in the division.

James R. Herman and Malvin E. Davis were appointed "associate actuaries" jointly in charge of the actuarial work pertaining to both ordinary and industrial insurance, including whole life insurance, auto insurance, term life insurance, and cheap life insurance. Because the company maintained two head offices in addition to the home office, it was deemed advisable with the increasing complexity of the business and the need for uniformity in practices to have an actuary in each head office.

George V. Brady, associate actuary, and Arnold B. Brown, Assistant Actuary, were assistant managers at the Canadian and the Pacific Coast Head Offices, respectively. Mr. Hohaus directed the many and complex tasks related to group insurance. He and his staff developed the underwriting rules, determined and revised premium rates, conducted practically continuous investigations into mortality and mor¬bidity experience of the business, prepared the valuations and financial analyses relating to group contracts, and determined the amount of dividends to be paid. Mr. Hohaus also continued the studies in social insurance which were begun by J. D. Craig.

These studies made it easier to provide good whole life insurance and high quality but affordable life insurance without making the life insurance quote take too much away from profits. Because of his expert knowledge of the subject, Mr. Hohaus was frequently been consulted by officials in charge of the federal program for social security. He was also been one of the best interpreters of the respective roles of private and public insurance in advancing the security of American families. Among the most notable of these interpretations were his presidential addresses delivered in 1939 and 1940 before the American Institute of Actuaries.

Mr. Herman was responsible for the study and administration of methods whereby individual policies shared equitably in the distribution of the total sum set aside for dividends. Constant research was made of the basic factors which entered into these calculations. Another important function under Mr. Herman's supervision was the preparation of the company's policy forms, in the drafting of which it was necessary to consider statutory requirements so that low cost life insurance wouldn't take a toll on the well being of the company.

The new forms were required to be approved by State Insurance Departments in advance of their use. Therefore, constant attention was paid to changes in the law and in the regulations of the State Departments. Mr. Herman had charge also of the filing of statements and returns required by law, and the work of computing and authorizing the payment of premium and other insurance taxes. Finally, he supervised actuarial studies pertaining to the compensation of the field force and to underwriting rules for industrial and ordinary insurance.

Mr. Davis directed various administrative works in connection with policy valuations, the preparation of financial analyses, and the maintenance of actuarial records. The valuations formed an essential part of the annual statement required by State Insurance Departments, which reviewed the methods of valuation every three years, making sure that all policy holders knew what is term life insurance.

On the basis of his annual valuation of the company's liabilities and the valuation of its assets by the responsible executives, the actuary computed the surplus earned during the year. In addition, Mr. Davis was responsible for studies and computations involved in preparing ordinary and industrial premiums and non-forfeiture values and for research on administrative problems. At the close of 1942, the Metropolitan's "actuarial division" totaled some 1,100 employees, of whom only about 250 were men.