The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-21
INSURANCE LOSSES MODERATE.
VIII Average from G5. 200 to 100000 to
Company-Americnn Companies Little Anecte,

viii Average from GS. o to $40. 900 to .
Company-Americnn Companies Little Affected.
Insurance men down town gave o good deal
of attention yesterday to the reports Of the Lon
don fire published in the morning papers. There
was aSconsiderable degree of satisfaction when a
cable despatch from the home office of the I'm
perial Insurance Company of London to its
New York agency gave something approaching
q business-like estimate Of the damage. One who
had seen it said that the despatch put the actual
loss at about a million sterling, and the insur-
ance ct about one-half that. The loss to single
companies would average about R5. 900, and a
few might lose as much as 100000. 1t was
explained thatsthe cable statement to the effects
that the bulk of the losses would fall on Ameri-
can companies did not mean companies or
ganized in the United States but on those Eng
lish companies which maintain offices and do
business in this country.
The representative of a big English company
said: "The district burned was not that portion
of the dry goods district that would be repre-
sented here by Leonard and Worth streets. but
rather such a section as We have in West
and Mercer. 1t was q region OF small manufac.
turers, makers Of umbrellas. cloaks, and white
goods goo m.n The 81 b%I 9hs d in large part we're oa old,
they were put up for any such business or for
any such number Of persons as were EN-:
DiOy GU " huoWlcuptO u
this made me feel sure that the losses could not
be anything like 5000 900 900. l think a quar-
ter OF that sum Is a more likely figure.
streets. I wouldn't like to criticisc the Lon
don Fire D%eparttment; but | do not believe that
has been especially free from large fires, and
that fact, perhaps, might be held to justify her
Fire Department. But to u person familiar with
the deliberateness that characteriZes the move.
ments of the department there, the number Of
hand engines they haye-a thing we do not
have in this city at all-the proportion of the
men who do not liye at the engine houses; to
ment there Is not a fireman, but n naval attache,
whereas here the Chief and all subordinate
commanders are hremen. almost born fremen-
almost strange that London hasn't had big
fires:
companies like the County Company, the West
minister, the Law Fire, the Hand INLAND, whose
business Is entirely confined to London. Com
paiies doing business in America have a larger
and wider experience. Operating in all parts of
the world, they are accustomed to measure the
chances of a large fire, to consider the water sup
ply, exposures, narrowness of streets, and eff
fectiveness Of the Fire Department., to such an
extent that their writings IN any given district
are restricted"
1t was said that not many American com.
panies We're doing business In London. Some
companies organized here, cannot; under their
charter. do business over there. Some have ar
ranged to resinsure foreign risks. One man
who Is familiar with pretty much all fire insur-
ance business and represents u large company,
said that he knew OF only two American COM
panies transacting business in London which
werc hit to any extent, the American Of Phila-
delphia and the Phoenix of Hartford. Another,
those t~wo'companies did the largest business in
London of any American companies. The
New York offices of both companies being only
ferred 70 he home Offices In PhiIadelphliaV and
Hartford for information.