Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-01-26
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LANCASTER, JANUARY &c, lSs5,
whether Insurance Insures.

The supreme court of our state has dc-
cided that a country store-keeper, who had
in his store. when it burned down, a little
more gunpcwder than the quantity limited
in his insurance, lost the benefit of the
policy. This is a decision strictly i'll line
with the well developed temper of the su-
preme court of Pennsylvania. to contem-
plate legal questions through corporation
spectacles. The ordinary judgment will be
that unless the excess of gunpowder in the
store could be shown to have caused the
damage, it should not prevent the store
keeper from recovering the loss which
he had paid his money to insure him.
self against. There has been great in
justice done to him in the strict construction
Of the contract. There would have been no
injustice done to the insurance companies
unless they have suffered their loss through
the violation of the stipulation as to the
quantity of powder. The loss they would
meet by paying the storekeeper for the
damage to his property is one that they
were paid by him to meet.
This seems to he plain enough, but GER
tain class of judges and lawyers cannot see
it this way. They call for the letter of the
bond, as Shylock did They say to the
storekeeper you agreed that the policy
should be void if you kept more than So
much powder; you kept more than you were
permittedt to keep and as you have violated
your contract you must suffer for it ; and
the insurance company can both keep
its premium and save the insurance it sold
you" AS we have suggested before, it is
notable that these strict construers of the
law, generally find that their arguments
favor the corporations, though they
may not, as judges, be hired attorneys.
1t has long been realization Of the in.
sured than insurance does not insure.
When 1t is applied for, the affable agent
cannot laud too highly the wealth and
honorable dealing Of his companies The
more insurance asked for, the more he is
delighted. He will take any amount of
your money and give you any amount of
his companies promises TO save you harm
less from fire. He does not offer YOU the
policy until he gets your contract and your
cash. Probably the majority of persons do
not read theirpolicies when they get them.
They have paid for them and they con,
clude that they are insured if the company
continues solvent. They make very grave
mistake. Thepos5ibility is that they arenOt
insured at all, as the storekeeper we speak
Of was not ; and the rea enable certainty
is that their insurance is jeopardizcd and
curtailed by the stipulations contained in
the notes, in very fine print, that may be
read with magnifying glass in an obscure
part Of the policy. Most persons never
suffer from fire. They are happy all their
lives in the sincere belief that they are in
sured and the companies gleefully take
their money every year, It is a beautiful
arrangement Of Providence which gives
joy and satisfaction TO So many people of
diverse interests.
But the beauty does moi continue when
the fire comes. Then the adjuster of the
company appears, and is an exceptionally
clever individual if he does not satisfy you
that he suspects that you have fired your
property yourself. When he gets down TO
valuation of the loss he calls your
attention to all the fine print pro-
visions which except from insurance
good proportion of the thing You have lost
and then he condesccnds to appoint an
expert builder, whom he imports from
abroad, as his appraiser, and allows you
the privilege of appointing another. The
expert generally gets away with the cOun-
try carpenter and finds minimum of
damage if ho does not the company
claims the privilege Of rebuilding when
you get through with this experience Of
heads ] win, tails you lose" you are
ready TO question whether insurance In
sures.