Age, Occupation and Residence as Variants of the Rate of Sickness

Unless the extensive discussion and agitation of the problem of sickness loss among the industrial population now going on proves entirely abortive, our profession will soon be called upon to solve some new and very interesting problems in connection with provision for general health insurance. The solution we ultimately reach will obviously be largely influenced by our line of approach and this in turn will depend in no small degree upon our past experience and present association. Thus those of us who have been most closely associated with the business of life insurance and from our knowledge of the basis of calculations in that branch of insurance have come to attach most importance to the age of the insured are apt to carry the same mental attitude into our attack upon these new problems. On the other hand, those of us who have had extensive experience with workmen's compensation and personal accident insurance problems are apt to approach them with the feeling that industry or occupation is the most important factor to be considered.