TOTAL AND AVERAGE AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION PAID BY THE NATIONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE INSTITUTION FOR ACCIDENTS OCCURRING IN EACH YEAR, BY RESULT OF INJURY, 1885 TO 1906.

[Source: Atti della Cassa Nazionale d' Assicurazione per gl' Infortuni degli Operai sul Lavoro. Verbale della Seduta del 22 dicembre 1908. Milano, 1909.]

Small as the amounts of compensation are, especially when judged by American standards, they are nevertheless considerable when compared with the Italian wages.

The total amount of compensation as stated in the last table does not include the payments under contract for insurance of employers' liability. The following table gives the total amount of employers' liability payments and the proportion these payments constituted of the entire compensation payments. The fluctuations from year to year are naturally very great, but the very marked decrease in such payments since 1898, when the compulsory accident insurance law was passed, is very significant. As appears from the table on page 1770, the vast majority of policies issued are of the combined collective class—that is, they include the insurance of employers' liability-but according to the law such liability arises under conditions of criminal fault only, and is evidently not very frequently resorted to.

PROPORTION BETWEEN EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY PAYMENTS AND TOTAL AMOUNT OF INDEMNITY PAID, 1884 TO 1906.

[Source: Atti della Cassa Nazionale d' Assicurazione per gl' Infortuni degli Operai sul Lavoro. Verbale della Seduta del 22 dicembre 1908 del Consiglio Superiore e Bilancio Consuntivo del 1907. Milano, 1909.]

The general results of the operation of this institution in the separate industrial groups to which the insured belong are shown in the following three tables for a period of four years, 1899 to 1902. By thus combining the data for a number of years larger numbers are obtained and the averages and proportions are more trustworthy than for a single year. The data for individual insurance are not included in these tables.

One of the most interesting things brought out by the following table is the proportion between the premiums and the wage expense in the various industrial branches. The lowest relative cost is found in the textile industry, only 0.47 of 1 per cent of the wage expense being paid as premiums. The highest, nearly 3 per cent, is quite unexpectedly found in agriculture. This is easily explained, however, by the fact that only persons tending agricultural machinery are subject by the law to compulsory insurance. With this exception, mining shows the highest percentage, followed by construction. Among the industries showing a low relative cost are found clothing, paper and printing, brick, earthen and glass ware, and even transportation (which does not include many railroad employees, as these are protected mainly by the railroad mutual funds).

The proportion between indemnity paid and premiums collected shows very interesting fluctuations. It demonstrates that the actual cost of accidents often varies considerably from the expected cost. Thus in the brick and china manufacturing industry and in mining the actual cost was very much higher than the expected cost as represented by the premium charged, while in the paper and printing industry it was only about two-fifths of what was expected; in clothing and in textiles it was about seven-tenths.

COMPARISON OF WAGES, INDEMNITY, AND PREMIUMS UNDER THE COLLECTIVE ACCIDENT INSURANCE OF THE NATIONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE INSTITUTION, BY INDUSTRIES, 1899 TO 1902.

[Source: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, May, 1907.]

103, 236, 290 507, 126, 669 52, 409, 817 1,520, 795 1.47 1,516, 352 1.47

99.71

Chemicals, etc.

Clothing.

Electricity.

Food, oil, and tobacco..

Metal working.

Mining..

Paper, printing, etc..
Textiles...

Transportation.

Woodworking.

Other industries.

Total.....

7,021,850 5,281,854 15, 252, 900

2,552,776 8, 004, 213 17,089,850 1,877, 770 2,493, 625

In the next table the results of the accidents occurring under the collective accident insurance of the National Accident Insurance Institution during the four-year period, 1899 to 1902, are shown by industries.

RESULTS OF ACCIDENTS OCCURRING UNDER THE COLLECTIVE ACCIDENT INSURANCE OF THE NATIONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE INSTITUTION, BY INDUSTRIES, 1899 TO 1902.

[Source: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, May, 1907.)

The following table shows, by industries and results of accidents, the indemnity paid during the four-year period, 1899 to 1902, to persons insured under the collective accident insurance of the National Accident Insurance Institution:

TOTAL AND AVERAGE PER CASE OF INDEMNITY PAID UNDER THE COLLECTIVE ACCIDENT INSURANCE OF THE NATIONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE INSTITUTION, BY INDUSTRIES AND RESULT OF INJURY, 1899 TO 1902.

[Source: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, May, 1907.]

Amount. age per Amount. age per Amount. age per Amount. age per

In the details of the financial organization a radical change was affected by the decree of November 22, 1888. The original agreements provided that the premiums should be calculated without taking into consideration the cost of administration, and that these be distributed among the 10 banks pro rata, proportionately to their contributions to the guarantee fund. After 10 years of experience the banks might be permitted to substitute a definite annual payment instead of these pro rata payments, or a lump-sum payment of the capitalized value of such annual payments. Half of the surplus from the operations of the insurance institution was to be used in payment of the guarantee fund in pro rata sums; and as long as the entire guarantee fund was not repaid, the interest on the outstanding amounts was to be returned to the banks. After the entire guarantee fund is repaid from the surplus a part, but not over one-half, of the additional surplus determined by the superior council might be used for accumulating a reserve fund and part for the benefits of the insured.

This system was abolished by the decree of November 22, 1888. According to the system then established the guarantee fund was

turned into the treasury of the insurance institution which was to make use of this fund and the interest from it as of all other revenue. On the other hand, the insurance institution was required to meet all expenses of administration. The prohibition to load these expenses upon the premium rate was abrogated, and the 10 banks which signed the agreement were freed from any further obligation to contribute to the cost of administration. The insurance institution was required to build up a reserve fund with the annual surpluses, and if after the first 10 years of operation this reserve should exceed 500,000 lire ($96,500) then the surpluses of the following years are to be used in repayment of the guarantee fund, without interest.

The financial condition of the insurance institution is shown in the following four tables.

The data were taken partly from the original reports of the National Accident Insurance Institution(") and partly from the digests of these reports in the serial publication, Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza. As this publication did not appear between 1896 and 1900, it was impossible to ascertain the data for 1895 to 1898.

As is seen from the statement of resources and liabilities, the resources had grown to $1,313,973 in 1905. The two principal items are the reserve for compensation of cases pending at the end of the year and the original guarantee fund of 1,500,000 lire ($289,500), which is practically intact. In addition the institution has carefully labored to create reserve funds for various purposes, and their growth has been fairly continuous.

RESOURCES AND LIABILITIES OF THE NATIONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE INSTITUTION FOR VARIOUS YEARS, 1889 TO 1907.

[Source: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza. Data for 1890 and 1895 to 1898 not obtainable.]

• Atti della Cassa Nazionale d' Assicurazione per gl' Infortuni degli Operai sul Lavoro, 1904-1909.

27,987

210, 579

26,566

38, 109

37,381