The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-10-13
Look TO Your Insurance.

It is very desirable and manifesto
ton OF cautious wisdom for farmers to
insure against fire, cyclones, hail, etc.
The small pittance required to pay the
premium can be easily spared from the
income OF the farm, while the total de-
structlon OF the house or barn, without
insurance, would seriously cripple the
business of the farmer for wears, and if
previously involved in debt prove dis
astrous. But the farmer in placing his
insurance has many points of vital in
terest to guard. Insurance companies.
like all other business enterprises, Or
game and manage their affairs so as
to make the most money for the stock
holders. They have the most skilled
managers OF insurance as officers, who
will attend to their side of the question.
But the farmer is unskilled in the forms,
the percussion clauses and long array of
conditions in the policy of insurance,
which in case of violation work a for
feiture of liability on the part of the
company to pay any loss in case of fire
or storm. The farmer must look care
fully to these questions himself.
Read your policy of insurance care
fully and repeatedly, until you under
stand it. If an agent applies to you to
insure, demand an exact copy of the in
surance policy which the company is
sues before you pay your money. In
most cases you make your application,
pay your money and never see your
policy, or a copy of it, until it arrives
by mail from headquarters. You open,
read the display lines and file it away,
without knowing its contents, and as a
consequence do many things in viola
ton of your policy, and if a loss occurs
you find, after having paid the pre-
miums and rested contented for wears,
you have no valid claim for the loss.
So we charge you to know just what
the conditions, clauses and the traps
are in the policy to be issued before you
pay your money.
. One of the most common oversiohts
by farmers as well as others is insuring
mOrtgaged property. If there be any
legal membranes on the property in
sured it invalidates the insurance, if the
facts are not stated in the application.
There are now, we have no doubt,
thousands of farm policies not worth
the paper on which they are written,
from the fact that no mention is made
in the application or policy of the in
cumbrance on the property. And we
have reason to believe that some in
surance companies favor taking such
policies, knowing they get the premium
without mourning any risk. There
are also thousands of risks taken on
property for more than the perishable
part of it is worth, and then when loss
occurs, the company has the right to
prove under the law what the property
was really worth when insured, and the
depreciation afterward, notwithstand-
ing the company has been receiving
full premium on the amount of the pol
icy. Insure therefore no more than can
be proven in court, by even prejudiced
witnesses, as to the value of the prop
erty. 1t is folly to insure too much on
your property. 1t gives the insurance
company money for which they run no
risk, and lays q temptation before you
to burn your own property for the in
surance.
There are such things as bogus in
surance companies, which have no le-
gal existence, though they may have
greedy agents all over the country,
taking risks at less than responsible
companies can do it for. They run
no risks. If loss occurs, they have no
existence in law and nothing can be
collected And this is not the period
in history when insurance companies
pay that which they cannot be COM
PEELED to.
So we say to farmers, read your pol
icies. See that they are right. Then
do nothing to violate any of the con-
ditions. Be sure you are insured in
legal and responsible company. Have
all the mortgages or membranes on
your property mentioned in the appli-
cation. Do not insure too much. Take
care of your fires; have your chimneys
and fiues fire proof; take up your ashes
in metal vessels, and put the ashes
where they cannot possibly set fire to
house or barn. Avoid Illegal and ire
sponsible companies. And now, before
youread any further, get your policy and
study it over carefully relative to any
point we have made.-I0Ca State Reg
iSter.