St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-10
FROM ITS INFANCY.
Fire Insurance BreeziIy Traced
Back and Its Aims Set Forth.


Fire insurance is a matter of practical
interest to far large number of persons
than either of the other two great de-
partmentS OF insurance-iife or marine.
Theirs are few persons to whom, in the
absence of insurance, the destruction of
their dwellings or of their household
goods would not be serious calamity,
while to the merchant or manufactures
the burning of his premises or stock or
machinery might be ruinOus. No aye
or country has been exempt from such
fatalities. and no watchfulnesS has been
able TO prevent them. Some protection
against the pecuniary consequences
seems an essential condition of any eX-
tended system of manufactures or COM
meree.
Fire insurance, however, as an Or
ganiZed system, has had an origin com
paTatiyely recent. There are traces,
indeed. in earlier times of enforced or
voluntary contributions toward the re-
lief OF sufferers by fire. but it is only
about the beginning of the seventeenth
century that we hear of proposals be-
ing made for more systematic proviS-
ion, and it was not till after the great
fire of London, in 1866. that these pro-
poSals took practical shape. This seems
at first to have been in the form
of underwriting by individuals or
by clubs, and some attempts were
made TO engage the corporation
of London in scheme OF fire insurance;
but i'm 1851 the first regular Office for in
Suranee against loss by fire was opened
by a combination of persons at the
back-sde of the ROYAL Exchange" and
1t was followed shortly afterwards by
another. OF the insurance offices that
still survive. only one. the Hand-in-
Hand. dates from the seventeenth CEN
Jl696); five date from the first half OF the
eighteenth century, the Sun Q71O).
Union Q19, Westminster 11IO, Lon
don Q720J. and Royal Exchange Q120);
while only three date from the second
half of thai century, the Salop Q7S0),
Phoenix Q7T2), and Norwich Union
(l797D The first fire office in Scotland
was established in 1720. the first in Ger
many in 100, and the first proprietary
company in that country in 17T9: the
first Of1ice in the United States was es-
tablished at Philadelphia in l152, one of
its early directors having been Benja-
min Franklin; the first in France dates
from 1916. and the first in Russia from
1927.
developed into great magnitude is The prac-
lice Of reinsurance No one company. how
ever large its resources, deems il prudent TO
undertake risk TO an unlimited amount in
connection with any one set of goods or one
locality. An office might restrict Its liabilities
by refusing to insure 10 larger amount than
what it pleased to run the risk of but The
convenience of the insured and the interest
OF its own agents, 10 say nothing of other
considerations. make it difficult for any Office
so to limit its responsibilities. j. therefore
issues policy for The amount proposed to it
put rcInsures part with some other Office or
offices. Business to a very large amount is
exchanged in this way and there are some
Offices which professedly, and some which
practically live by the premiums paid over
10 them by other Offices.
When Insurance companies were first es-
tabiished. and for long time afterwards,
they undertook not only to reimburse the in
sHred for losses. but TO extin=uish fires. la
one OF the earliest prospeciGses put forth lin