The herald., 1897-01-25
SHOWS A HEAVY DECREASE
Fire Insurance Business on the Coast
During the Past Year
Falling Off of s42. .00O, 600 in Risks-Prem-
ium Collections and Losses
Paid

The reports of the fire insurance COM
panies of the coast have all been received
by Insurance Commissioner Higgins at
San Francisco and a tabulated state
ment of last years business was issued
by the Coast Review Friday The figures
In this table show that business might
have been worse. for, taken as a whole,
losses and expenses are just about bal
anced by receipts. The average expense
ratio is about As per cent. The average
loss ratio for all companies was 55.5 per
cent.
In volume of business written the year
1896 shows falling off as compared with
1895 Of about $42, ,0OO, 900. In last year the
total was $522,6S7, ,SO9. Premium receipts
for 1896 were $7653, ,17S, or Just about
s1,000,000 less than in 1895 and 81, 800, 900
less than in 1894. The amount paid in
losses last year was $424S, 729, or about
$500,000 less than in 1895.
The companies of other states Jared
generally better than either the home
or foreign companies Their average loss
ratio was 52.6, that of the two home
companies being $50 and of the foreign
companies 57.2. The smallest loss ratio
exclusive of the Thuringia. which has
Olly becH mere u lew InOLlflS, Is tIldt OIL
the Franklin of Philadelphia, 29.6 per
cent. The largest loss ratio, that of the
Globe of New York, was 4091 per cent.
California life insurance companies
show an increase in business for last
year, new and renewed, of SO, ,000, 900, the
total in force on December 81, 1896. being
$116,772581. The new business written
amounted to $17,274,667 and the renewed
policies to 500, 114,587. The losses and en-
Il MI 10
as compared with $1,972395 in 1895.
The annual meeting of the directors
of the Underwriters Fire Patrol was
held Friday in San Francisco and the
following officers were chosen: Charles
A. Laton, president, for the twenty-first
time; John Scott Wilson, vice-president,
and, for the ninth time, Rudolph Her.
old, secretary and treasurer. The only
change in the directory was the substi-
tuition Of Arthur e. Magill for Nathaniel
T. James, as the latter is temporarily
without q company
The Fire Underwriters Inspection bu-
reau held its annual meeting in San
Francisco Friday and Chief Inspector
+. H. Porter presented his report. This
shows that since the bureau was started
in 1885 the number of preventable fires,
which was then 29 per cent, has been
reduced to Z per cent, due to the system
of inspection maintained by the under
writers at a cost of less than seven
tenths of l per cent of the city premi-
ums. The report of Rudolph Herold, the
treasurer, shows the total expenses to
have been for the year s9205.
j. H. Brewster, assistant United States
manager of the Scottish union and ma
tional, under Martin Bennett of Hart
ford, Conn, is In San Francisco.
He comes for the express purpose of
deciding what shall he done in req-a rd
to his company on this coast, which will
be relinquished by w. ]. Callingham on
February 1st. 1t is generally believed
that the coast department will be re-
duced to a reporting agency. with head
quarters at Chicago.