Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
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Historical sketch
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Box and folder listing
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Processed by
Charles Latham
24 January 1992
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 3 manuscript boxes (1 linear foot)
COLLECTION DATES: 1935-1960
PROVENANCE: R. Ronald Calkins, Indianapolis IN, 14 August 1977
COPYRIGHT: Held by Indiana Historical Society
ACCESION NUMBER: 77.0805
Richard A. Calkins (1898-1961) was born in Mount Vernon, Indiana, and moved to Indianapolis with his family in 1910. He graduated from Shortridge High School, and attended Purdue University in 1917-1918. From 1920 to 1930 he worked in advertising, serving with the Indianapolis News (1921-1922), Emerson B. Knight, Inc. (1920-1924), and Sando Advertisement Co. (1924-1930).
Shifting to the insurance business in 1930, Calkins was an agent for Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co. (1931-1935) and then general agent for Massachusetts Indemnity and Life Insurance Co. (1935-1949). In 1949 he founded Disability Income Insurance Company, of which he served as president until 1958. The company was a success, but when the number of new policies dropped slightly in 1958, there was disagreement among members of the board, and Mr. Calkins was replaced as president by Henry J. Peirce. As the disagreements turned out to be impossible to resolve, D.I.I.C. was sold in July 1959 to Associates Life Insurance Company, also based in Indianapolis. Mr. Calkins died two years later.
Sources: Materials in collection, especially letter from donor
Who's Who in the Midwest, 1958 edition
Indiana Biographical Series, vol. 59 page 42
This collection, filling three manuscript boxes, consists almost entirely of mimeographed mailings and reports, often annotated by hand. It covers almost the whole of Mr. Calkins's career in insurance, 1935-1960, including his fifteen years as a general agent as well as his years as head of D. I. I. C. The collection is organized under two main headings, operations and corporate affairs.
The materials provides a thorough look at Calkins's methods as an insurance salesman and executive. It also documents quite fully his efforts to state his case during his disagreements with members of his board in 1958-1959.
Boxes 1 and 2 contain materials about operations and insurance sales. In Folders 1-13 of Box 1 are mailings to prospective policyholders for 1936 to 1958. There is some miscellaneous advertising in Folder 14. In Folders 15 and 16 are bulletins sent to agents while Calkins was general agent.
In Folders 1-11 of Box 2 are bulletins sent to agents of D. I. I. C., 1949-1960. Folders 12-15 contain procedures manuals used during two periods in the 1950s.
Box 3 contains material on the corporate affairs of D. I. I. C. In Folders 1-9 are production (sales) figures for 1949-1960. Financial statements of the company are in Folders 10-16. Folders 17-23 contain mailings sent to stockholders of the company during its entire history; of these the most voluminous are from the controversial years 1958 and 1959.
This collection was formerly designated BV 769-782, but was changed to M 603 in January 1992.
BOX 1 MAILINGS TO PROSPECTS; AGENT BULLETINS #1-55
FOLDER
1 Mailings to policyholders-- 1936-1947
2 Mailings to prospects-- 1936-1939
3 Mailings to prospects-- 1940-1947
4 Mailings 1951-1954 to-- physicians
5 Mailings 1951-1954 to-- dentists
6 Mailings 1951-1954 to-- accountants
7 Mailings 1951-1954 to-- optometrists
8 Mailings 1951-1954 to-- lawyers
9 Miscellaneous mailings-- 1949-1956
10 Schedule of mailings-- 1952-1958
11 Mailings 1956-1958 to-- accountants
12 Mailings 1956-1958 to-- dentists
13 Mailings 1956-1958 to-- physicians
14 Miscellaneous advertising
15 Bulletins to agents-- #1-30
16 Bulletins to agents-- #31-55
BOX 2 AGENT BULLETINS 1949-1960; PROCEDURES MANUALS
FOLDER
1 Bulletins to agents-- 1949
2 Bulletins to agents-- 1950
3 Bulletins to agents-- 1951
4 Bulletins to agents-- 1952
5 Bulletins to agents-- 1953
6 Bulletins to agents-- 1954-1955
7 Bulletins to agents-- 1956 I
8 Bulletins to agents-- 1956 II
9 Bulletins to agents-- 1957
10 Bulletins to agents-- 1958
11 Bulletins to agents-- 1959-1960
12 Procedures 1954-1955 I
13 Procedures 1954-1955 II
14 Procedures 1956-1958 I
15 Procedures 1956-1958 II
BOX 3 PRODUCTION (SALES); FINANCIAL; MAILINGS TO STOCKHOLDERS
FOLDER
1 Production record-- 1949-1950
2 Production record-- 1951-1952
3 Production record-- 1953-1954
4 Production record-- 1955-1956
5 Production record-- 1957-1958
6 Production record-- 1959-1961
7 Net production
8 Shrinkage
9 Terminations
10 Financial statements-- 1949
11 Financial statements-- 1950-1951
12 Financial statements-- 1952-1953
13 Financial statements-- 1954-1955
14 Financial statements-- 1956-=1957
15 Financial statements-- 1957-1958
16 Financial statements-- 1958-1959
17 Mailings to stockholders-- 1949
18 Mailings to stockholders-- 1950-1951
19 Mailings to stockholders-- 1952-1953
20 Mailings to stockholders-- 1954-1955
21 Mailings to stockholders-- 1956-1957
22 Mailings to stockholders-- 1958
23 Mailings to stockholders-- 1959
MAIN ENTRY: Disability Income Insurance Company
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Massachusetts Indemnity Insurance Company. Richard A. Calkins Agency
Associated Life Insurance Company (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Insurance companies--Indiana--Indianapolis
Insurance--Indiana--Indianapolis
Insurance, Disability--Indiana--Indianapolis
Insurance, Life--Indiana--Indianapolis
Insurance--Indiana--Indianapolis--Agents
Advertising--Insurance--Indiana--Indianapolis
Business records--Indiana--Indianapolis
Stockholds--Indiana
Dentists--Insurance requirements
Physicians--Insurance requirements
Lawyers--Insurance requirements
ADDED ENTRIES: Calkins, Richard A., 1898-1961
END