The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1877-09-22

The ADVANTAGES of Insurance are acknowl-
edged universally, nor does the occasional failure
of individual Life Insurance Companies, now
ever hurtful to the sufferers thereby, shake the
conviction in their utility. For the present, W.
propose to make a few remarks on the subject
of the exceptional condition of the Insurance
business in this country, promising that we refer
to the Fire and Marine Insurance Companies
with agencies in these Islands.
1t is almost needless to observe that the whole
of the Fire and Marine Insurance business of
these Islands is exclusively in the hands of
foreign companies. At the present, there are
as many as fourteen foreign Fire and Marine
Insurance Companies which have their Agents
established in our business community. The
companies in question have their head quarters
in the United States, or Germany, or England.
We deem it unnecessary to enumerate them
singly, for their names are to be found in our
advertising columns. The very fact of the exis-
tence of so large a number of Fire and Marine
Insurance Agencies in this commercial centre is
a proof of the profitable and extensive nature of
the business in which they are engaged. Indeed,
it is beyond dispute that the insurance business
in these Islands returns very large profits to the
companies. 1t is easy to understand that the
several amounts paid for assurances against fire
in this capital and throughout these Islands,
must yearly amount to a very important sum.
Here, the custom is to insure every description of
property. In no other community is Fire Insur-
ance more general, in proportion to property and
population. The same may be said of Marine
Insurance, relative to the inter-island coasting
business and to trade. ~Itappears, too, that this
community pays as high as any other, for these
special advantages derived from Fire and Marine
Insurance. We can state that the usual rates
charged for insurance under those heads are from
three to four per cent, and some times rise as
high as five per cent. This system of rates of
insurance is heavier than in a great many bust
ness communities elsewhere. But, letting that
pass, we turn to the consideration of the heavy
drain of money which the acknowledged adyan-
tages of Fire and Marine assurances nevertheless
now entail upon this community, flowing out of
it to swell the premiums annually paid to the
foreign share holders of insurance companies in
the States, England and Germany. We believe
that there is no exaggeration in calculating the
yearly sum of money, thus paid over by our
financial community to foreign exchequers at
quite $50 900.
This fact deserves very serious consideration.
1t is evident that, with all the unquestionaDle
advantages derived from Fire and Marine Insur-
ance, We are yearly sending under the present
system large sums of money out of this country,
which need not all, at least, be sacrificed to
foreign capitalists, with Q little management
on our own part. The suggestion at once
occurs why not set on foot a national Hawaiian
Fire and Marine Insurance Company? Surely,
there is nothing absurd nor impossible in such an
undertaking. We are happy to think that a
very large amount of capital lies nesting in this
community-as we have heretofore remarked,
when abiding from time TO time to the frequent
investments of large sums of money in the sugar
business, of late. We see no reason, then, Why
some of our e~nterprising capitalists should not
unite to establish local Fire and Marine Insur-
ance Company in our ENTHUSIASTICALLY when the
business is undoubtedly paying SO handsomely
the foreign capitalists who now monopolize it
in these Hawaiian Islands. Ofcourse, we do not
suppose that a local company wonld be able at
once to get hold of all the business of that
nature in this community. Many foreign bust
ness houses would stick to their foreign COM