EDUCATING FOR LONGER LIFE - SERVICE RECORD OF THE WELFARE DIVISION, METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY 1909-1928

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Riley

Educating for Longer Life presents the service record of the Welfare Division of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (1909–1928), describing how insurance was framed as a social program for longer life. It outlines the rationale behind the welfare initiative, focused on preventing unnecessary sickness and premature death through education in personal hygiene, community health participation, and cooperation with health officials. The text explains industrial policyholder risks, language and literacy barriers, and the use of targeted health literature with illustrations and translations to reach diverse audiences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

EDUCATING FOR LONGER LIFE

RESTRICTIONS ON USE

EDUCATING POLICYHOLDERS IN PERSONAL HYGIENE

HEALTH LITERATURE

97-84141-25Metropolitan Life Insurance CompanyEducating for longer life New York [1928] # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESPRESERVATION DIVISION BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED-EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 308Z Box 612Metropolitan life insurance company,New York.Education for longer life,New York,Metro-politen life insurance company 1928,cover-title,32 p.illus.,teble,diagrs.232cm. "Service record of the Welfare division,Met-ropolitan life insurance company,1909-1928."16763n4C2 Reproductions may not be made withou permission from Columbia University Libraries. ## RESTRICTIONS ON USE: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: 35mnREDUCTION RATIO: //:/ II IB IMAGE PLACEMENT:IA IIB INITIALS: B DATE FILMED: 7-9-97 TRACKING\#: Z6ozl FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES,BETHLEHEM,PA. CHADy0CK EDUCATINGfor LONGERLIFE 308Z3o×C12 METROPOLITAN LIFEINSURANCE COMPANY HOME OFFICE,NEW YORKPacifie Coast Head Office,San FranciscoBritish Isles Head Office,LondonCanadian Head Office,Ottawa # EDUCATING FORLONGER LIFE SERVICE RECORD OF THE WELFARE DIVISION,METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANYI909.I928 AILORS ashore in New York tell of the joy of seeing atnight on the ocean the red and white lights of theMetropolitan Tower fashing the hours.It is like afriendly greeting out of the dark,they say. There are other friendly greetings out of the dark fromthe Tower.It was such a greeting which came to an Italianwoman when a pamphlet was put in her hands telling in herowm language how to take care of herself before her baby came.It was a greeting out of the dark to another policyholder whena nurse was sent daily to take care of "her man"who was ill.It was a greeting out of the dark to a father and a motherwhen an Agent said they need not be afraid that their babywould die as the first one did,for they could have her“immunizeď”against diphtheria. For the last nineteen years these greetings have flashedconstantly from the Welfare Division. TN I909 the Company,in announcing the organization of the Wel-fare Division,stated that"Insurance,not merely as a businessproposition but as a social program,will be its future policy." The convictions and purposes which led the Company to announcethis program were: I.The tragedy of unnecessary sickness and premature death. 2.The belief that such sickness and death among policyholdersmight be appreciably reduced by a campaign of education in personalhygiene. 3.The belief that policyholders could be educated to participateactively in the betterment of community health. 4.The belief that Metropolitan agents visiting the homes ofpolicyholders weekly could become a valuable body of healthmessengers. 5.The desire to extend cooperation to health officials and welfareorganizations in health promotion. 6.The desire that constructive health legislation and adequateappropriations for health work be secured locally and nationally,through cooperation of agents,policyholders and the public. 7.The desire that by demonstration,surveys and research,newavenues of disease prevention could be opened and discoveries in preventive medicine could be confirmed and practically applied. THE Welfare Division was organized in I909 to face and deal with atragedy—the tragedy of unnecessary sickness and premature deathin the home of the average Industrial policyholder. Possibly nothing better tells the story of the conditions amongIndustrial policyholders at that time than the fact that approximatelyI8 per cent.of the Company's death claims in I9II were due totuberculosis.The death rate was 224.6 per 1o0,000.Industrialpolicyholders are primarily the working population of the UnitedStates and Canada.The conditions under which they lived,and theoccupations in which they were engaged made fo

FAQs

What was the purpose of the Welfare Division when it was organized in 1909?

It was organized to address the tragedy of unnecessary sickness and premature death in the homes of industrial policyholders through an education-based social program.

Why was personal hygiene education emphasized for policyholders?

Many insured people had limited access to advanced scientific knowledge in preventive medicine, and education was adapted to their needs to reduce disease and improve living conditions.

How did the company’s health literature support disease prevention?

The distributed pamphlets were prepared to explain modern scientific medicine in simple terms, using visual appeal and illustrations, and were translated to reach foreign-born policyholders.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Riley