The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-10-15
LOSSES BY FIRE AND BY WATER.


due to the intentional destruction of
insured property for the purpose of
getting the insurance, more cspe-
cially when that is excessive.
Evidence recently brought out by
n royal Commission which has been
investigating the subject, shows that
during the nine years preceding 1884
there occurred to vessels in the mcr-
chant service of Great Britain and
its colonies 1888 wrecks and casu-
alties. as the result of which 1892
passengers and 2l,324 seamen lost
their lives. Disasters to ships, too,
have been increasing, while the loss
of lives of crews has fallen off largely
from year to year. In fine, the evil
dence supports the theory of the
British Board of Trade that these
losses are in great part preventable,
and q consequence of overinsur-
ance.
More than half of the vessels were
stranded, favorite method of
swindling insurance companies, as
we know from our home experience.
The fishermen of Long Island, for
instance, are apt to take very
cynical view of the causes of the
wrecks and STANDINGS which occur
along their well-lighted coast. Their
inference usually is that the ship has
been run ashore in order to obtain
the insurance money; and it seems
that losses of the less-prized sailing
vessels of the British merchant SER
vice steadily increase. Instances
where vessels have persisted in in
viting disaster by getting in the path
of great steamers, and more espe-
cially of Government ships, are also
frequent in this country, and pro-
badly not less so in Great Britain.
The evidence presented by the
Board of Trade indicates how it may
be more profitable to lose ship on
the return voyage from India, for
instance, than to safely bring her
into port with her cargo at low
freight rates; and now, when so
large q part of the merchant marine
of England is making nothing, the
temptation to sacrifice the vessel
and endangcr lives, in order to get
an excessive insurance must be
greater than ever.
The average annual loss by fire
in the United States and Canada is
over one hundred millions of dollars,
and the fire losses of the insurance
companies are increasing. The pro-
portionate destruction of property
because of criminal negligence or
actual assistance and connivance on
the part of owners can only be
guessed at, for evidence enough to
prove the guilt is not often obtain
able; but experienced underwriters
believe it to be large. They know
that rascal may be able to cipher
out better profit if he burns up his
property, than if he sells it, for even
an entirely accidental fire not infre-
quently proves of much advantage to
owners.
The rates of fire insurance, despite
the increase of losses, are much
lower than formerly, because of the
competition of companies, so that
the Commercial Bulletin comes to
the conclusion that ''iire underwrit-
ing, as at present conducted, and in
the lurid light of latter day loss
ratios, is more nearly gratuity to
the average property owner than
anything else in the line of benevol-
ence that we can think Of" But
for the interest received on invested
assets no dividends worth mention
ing could have been paid recently
by the companies on the millions of
their capital. SIT is within easy
proof" continues this authority,
''that, taking the last twenty or
twenty-five years together, the fire
insurance companies doing business
in this State-our own and those of
other States-have not paid to their
stockholders in dividends an amount
equal to the interest earnings OF their
assets-to say nothing of any profit
gained from underwriting
The inference from that is that
the insurance companies have made
during that time nothing out of
their premiums, even if their losses
have not exceeded their gains from
that source, and that they only live
because they have in the past ac-
cumulated assets enough to pay a
fair interest on their capital. The
careful and conscientious among
the insured pay for the losses in
Cured by negligence and rascality
and the stockholders in the COM
panies draw their dividends wholly
from their past accumulations. Yet
the Bulletin says that, with scarce
ly an exception, every New York
company could at this moment close