Tacoma's 'Life Insurance' Was a Flim-Flam, and the Law Is Closing In
The West Coast Life Insurance Company's officers face prosecution after state examiners expose a sham; a receiver takes over.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
It turns out, as many supposed, that the West Coast Life Insurance Company of Tacoma was a fraud of the basest kind; but the meshes of the law are closing around President Kemp, Director Josephus Howell, and others, thanks to the vigilance of the insurance department of the office of the secretary of state. The business men of Tacoma ought to be thankful that such a flim-flam game has been exposed. William A. Rice has been made permanent receiver, and it looks as if one or more of the old officers of the company will be able to break into the penitentiary.
“The business men of Tacoma ought to be thankful that such a flim-flam game has been exposed.”
Before modern insurance regulation and deposit protections, a life-insurance fraud could wipe out families who thought they were buying security. The case shows how a small state insurance department became the first line of defense for ordinary savers.
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