e, the
resulting income of any individual being possibly much greater than
the amounts actually saved (e.g., when the insured dies or is injured
soon after taking insurance), and possibly less or nothing at all. A
very desirable kind of insurance which is yet little developed is
that for a term ending with the usual retirement age (say 65 years)
combined with an old-age pension for life thereafter.

It is probable that abstinence will more and more express itself not
in accumulating large capital sums to provide for one's old age or for
survivors, but in providing insurance for survivors, and invalidity
and old-age pensions for the insured and others, payable as terminable
annuities. In any case the results to be expected in the changing
forms and magnitude of private fortunes are certain to be great.

Sec. 15. #Excessive costs of insurance operation.# So beneficent is
insurance that the enormous cost of transacting the business under
present methods is much to be regretted. A very large part of the
premiums paid by the insured is retained by the companies.[8] In the
case of reserve life insurance a considerable part of what is not
returned is, however, set aside as reserve virtually held in trust for
the policyholders. In the case of the other kinds of insurance, nearly
all of the amount not returned is either cost of operation or profits,
tho it must be recognized that a part of the cost of some kinds
of insurance is for real services, such as inspection and fire
prevention. It is remarkable that the percentage returned by the life
insurance companies, accumulating, as they do, large reserves in trust
for the policyholders, is greater than it is for the other kinds of
companies (fire, marine, casualty, surety, liability, accident, and
health insurance).

It is a striking evidence of the importance of the marginal
principle[9] that insurance at such a cost should still be desired by
men. The use of insurance would be much wider and its benefits greater
if this "tare and tret" of doing the business could be reduced. It
seems a reasonable hope, now that the experimental stages are passed,
that this may be done. In the case of all kinds of insurance as yet a
large expense for agents has been necessary to educate men to see
the value of insurance and to purchase it, as well as for many other
competitive expenses. It has been found that much of this expense
can be saved by insurance in groups (for all employees in an
es