New-York tribune., 1872-12-06
BOSTON INSURANCE LOSSES.
SWORN RETURNS soFTHELos-NG COMPANIES.

THE PALACES INHERENT IN PREVIOUS EsTI-
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ON THE PART
OF INSURANCE COMPASIES-TIIE TOTAL IN
sURANCE LOSS EXCEEDS S02OOO,O0O.
tppoN AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT or TIM TRIBUNE
BosToN, Dec. At is "a days since tho
Boston fire Tho last embcrs have been quenchcd tho
smoke has cleared away, the guards have been witn
drawn and repair and retreyement have already Deg
to encroach the great dcsoation Just now great
that desoation is nobody can yet tell inc SMOKE Is
hardly out of our eyes yet and have hardly cooled OH
from the great heat excitement which Che ro rnsSd
The ruins tell part Of tho story but only part The
relief committees will toll you another part and, thank
Heaven the part they have to tell small To ledgers
ana balance sheets must turn for the nam part VI
tho story and Of these have sadder Story 10 ei
than those which make up the insurance rccOru lno
general aggregate lossos OF the great fire can only be
conjectured and figures based on simple estimation arc
always elusive but when we come TO tho insurance h'
yoyement we the means when the record Ia once
made up OF gauging accurately the greatest financial
catastrophe that Boston has experienced.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ESTIMATES AND SWORN RBTCRNs'
Immediately after the Boston fire, after tho one ut
Chicago when millions of capital In pershabe property
sunk into ashes oil eyes turned to the insurance
as offering the great possible mitigation Tho insurance
companies besieged then, they have been be-
seged ever since by anxious and interested inqurcrs
for after ALL great question in this and other similar
caasrophes s what is tho loss but where does IL
fall how many shoulders tho load, and how much
can they carry. To satisfy and alay the anxious ana
| pressing demand. hastily prepared statements were i'm
medatey issued stating the amount Of tho Boston loss
and communicated to tho public. These estimates.
which have yet superseded by full and accurate
returns have been the bases OF false hope many oas3s
OF needless alarm in others Presidents and directors
shot wide OF the mark Losses havo been severely un-
derstated and in where assets ana surplus
assured tho companys life equally oyerstaioi from an
Of Tho falln nf nANl
harmed out OF the fire with the heaviest load have
before mo o statement Of losses OF the affected com
panics issued fow days after tho fire. which has had
considerable currency in financial circles comparison
instituted between it and the accurate statements OF
LOSSES given below shows differences Of from 10 to lCO
per cent in tho amounts. The correct returns some
times show an increase the carly estimates Of
100000 100000; in before me, of 100000
| INsoLvENT CONCERNS ISSUING POLICIES.
careful study Of insurance and the methods
by which they are made up would not IL IL were male
known show business nts best light do not mean
that single word in that sentence shall DO construed
to shadow of suspicion upon tho great number OF
honest, worthy, able, business men who stand at the
head Of many insurance companies, whose management
is beyond criticism whose probity ia beyond question;
but do 10 say that the insurance business has
enjoyed no immunity from mismanagement that there
OF companies throughout the country whose
agreements insure not worth the paper they are
written on II brought 10 test whose insolvency is only
| postponed by the daring efr0ntery with when they
away their obligation TO the laws. Tue nisrepre-
sentatOn practced toward the insured have been ex
tended for time with toward the state Com
misONers making clear tho necessity OF frequent and
theron.h examination % OF every GomP1nys anas cHns
when they sworn TO-, sealed, aud Witnessed Ia the
OF company after the Chicago fire, its losses
were not reported within 100000 OF the truth As
consequence. it had to make heavy assessments and
kind OF crutch to sustain itse Another
| company broke down fine morning in time OF
financial and quetue. Its affairs showed that It's
assets had been persiseuty 0Verstaed ana OVesworn
| v "A
amount Of backing and filling there Is IN many cases
Constant and close scrutiny must be exercised 10 pro
insured All sorts Of subterfuges are resortcd
| 10 to escape detection"
AUTHORITATIVE AND ACCURATE RETURNS.
In the face OF such difficulties and the delays oecasoned
adjusting and balancing books incident to the large
business Of many companies, 1 have endeayored to
collect authoritative aud accurate returns, far yet
made of losses of companies who have suffered by the
Boston fire. The returns as given below have not hitherto
been published; but they are swsrn statements, IN
many eases since revised OF the companies whose
accompany them and they have already been communi
catd aud made the basis OF representation ana report
to the Commissioners OF the various states Ia which tney
do business They will appear in this shape IN the vari
state reports, ana have therefore, the authority anu
accuracy though not at this early day the form Official
! statements Many companies yet remain 10 De heard
FROM list OF these IS subsequently given. giYey you
first list Of the Massachusetts, companies affected ~
| alta he'd Tne list Is complete:
| MASSACHUSETTS, MUTUAL FIRE COMPANIES
Boot and shoe Manu'acturers, Lynn. s6s,OO)
| Builders Mutual. Boston .............-.. 10000
| Bristol Co, ,HewBedford.. d.......-.....-...- 4O,OO
| Cambridge Mutual, Clmbridge.-...-.... 25,0O
Deoam Mutual, Dedham .......-......-. 500
| Dorchester, Boston. $1,000
Essex, Salem. 22,5O)
| MassschIsetIs Mutual Boston 125io0
| Mechanics Mutual, Boston. lJ3l,O1)
| Mechanics and Fdrners, Worcester. 100000
| Naumkeag, Salem. 2GJ9
| Quincy Mutual, Quincy. ,......-...-...-.. $4,000
| South DanYers, Peabody. ................ $500
nfo Mint RDgtu