X-Message-Number: 2995
Date:  Thu, 18 Aug 94 17:22:58 
From: 
Subject: CRYONICS Group Insurance


Steve Van Sickle writes (in Message: #2992 - Re: Insurance)

>What about sympathetic organizations *other* than cryonics 
>societies.  The Venturists immediately leap to mind.  Or starting 
>from scratch with a new "Fraternal Benefits Society".  "The Loyal 
>Order of Demi-Gods" or something.  Not only could we get group 
>insurance, but we could drink too much beer, wear funny hats, 
>and learn secret handshakes.  Great fun.

Well, I think that you'd have to come up with some pretty 
important looking funny hats to get an insurer to believe that the 
"group" exists for anything other than getting cryonics insurance 
coverage.  Who knows, though.  All I know about Fraternal 
Benefits Societies is that Alcor isn't one.  Clues, anyone?

>And perhaps a group could get insurance for what individuals 
>cannot: remote stand-by.  

I don't think there is any standard form of insurance (life, health, or 
otherwise) which would cover standby.  As with liability insurance 
for cryonics, an insurer wouldn't have the kind of data necessary to 
know just what risk to assign to a "standby" insurance policy.  I 
imagine there is at least some data to be unearthed about what 
kinds of illnesses, diseases, etc., lead to death and what sort of time 
frame might be involved for people of varying ages and states of 
health.  But standby is much more complicated and ambiguous than 
that.  E.g., The company has no way of knowing if the patient has a 
living will which says "Please pull plug pronto."  Nor can they 
know what hospital the patient might end up in, or what the 
procedures and policies for resuscitating dying patients might be in 
the hospital.  Furthermore, until there are a whole bunch more of 
us, I can't see why an insurer would be motivated ($$$) to sort his 
way through all of that stuff.

I have heard of a non-standard way for a group to insure itself, 
though, called a Mutual Indemnity Society.  

My understanding is that such societies have been formed by 
groups such as farmers who can't get insurance for their crops, but 
who would like to insure themselves against failure nonetheless.  I 
guess the idea is that everyone pays into one fund, and payments 
are made whenever someone has a claim to make.  I don't know 
much beyond this, though.  Has anyone else heard of Mutual 
Indemnity Societies, and if so, do you have any idea if we could 
form one, or how to go about finding out?

>Stephen Van Sickle
>Maker of Extra Work for the Membership Administrator

Whadda ya mean "Work?"  This ain't work.  Now farming, *that's* 
work!

Forward in all directions!

Derek Ryan
Membership Administrator
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
Ph. # 602-922-9013
Email: 

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