The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-23
Local Insurance Men
Are Thoroughly
Aroused.
TAKE ACTION ON "OVERWRITERS"
Counted Among These Are
Bishop Beaver and
G. E. Stickney.

insurance men are up in arms against
agents who are known as "oyer-
writer's" and they have come down on
them hard.
Counted among these overwriters are
c. d. Stickney and Rt. Rev. DR.. Thorn
as D. Beaver, bishop of the diocese of
Springfield, and they have been placed
on the books of the Worcester under
writer's board as "overwriters
At a recent meeting of the Worces-
ter board of underwriters, It was voted
that no Worcester insurance agent
should write policy for any agent or
broker who is entered on the local rec
ords as guilty of placing policies in
Worcester by the method of "over-
writing" The local board defines
overhead" writing as the placing Of a
risk in the city of Worcester in com
panies by agents who are not members
of the local board, or who have no
agencies in this city. This is true of
other cities. A Worcester agent could
not go to Springfield or Boston and
place a policy in either place without
laying himself liable to being placed on
the records as an "overwriter"
The board stipulates that all business
done in Worcester must be done by
agents of this city. The penalty for vio-
lating this rule common among all IN
derwriters throughout the country, is
the annual premium on the policy writ
ten
The board at its meeting went fur
Their than this. 1t has made an iron
clad rule to the effect that no risks,
which may be on the records as being
placed by overwriting, shall be written
by any member of the board. This
means that when an agent from some
other city comes to Worcester ard
takes a risk. on some property, he can
not come to a local agent and say Il
have a risk 1 would like to have you
write for me-" thereby meaning he is
to get a part of the commission, or in
other words to write the risk as the
agent himself.
This is what the local board means
to stop, and all the principal compa-
MES of the country have signed to this
agreement as well as their agents.
In accordance with these rules,
Charles E. Stickney and Bishop Bet.-
ven, both Of Springfield, have been
placed on the records as agents for
whom no local agent may write any
business.
This action has been pending for
some time, but it has increased inter
est recently because all the Cathol-c
church property insurance in this do
cese has been taken from local agents
by this system of overWrltlng anu
placed in the agency of G. 2. Stlckney
of Springfield. The pastors OF Catno.
lie churches objected to the placing q
their assurances in the names Oh oIle
man and he in Springfield, and tney
Kicked against it till Bishop Beaver
himself was made an agent Tor the
Royal Company.
nv this means the premiums were
saved to the church upon when me
risk was taken, but even at that .he
pastors still object to the money Deiiis
taken out of their own towns ana CIT
les where it rightfully belongs 10 the
local agents of the same companies .
And when it was thought llKely ina
this movement to insure cnurch pIot'4+
ertv. might become general anu tn ,el
other churches besides the Catno'to
church. would be included, the agents
became aroused. L.. +o1-ar
n accordance with the action taken
az The last meeting of the board, the
insurance of Holy Cross college anu
the new st. Vincent's Hospital nave
heen placed by these so-called over
writer's" And the local board VIII not
hermit any of it's agents to Write any
Of this property for these OUTSIDE agellts
unless the whole is placed through WoIz
cester agents hands. 1t has peen Iouilu
that the Royal cannot accept the ell
fire and full risks of both these places,
tbev being so large, and the OUTSIDE
agents have attempted to get some OF
tbe local board to write part OF 1t. rms
risk is a large one, too large Tor any
.o,e or two or even three companies 10
handle. and it is the desire of the out
eide neople to secure some OF IL through
local agents. This cannot De zone dc-
cording to the agreement, ana VIII not
he done. The board says the Whoie OF
none at all. ...,e ;v,+o
a fight between Stickney and the local
hoard of underwriters. If Stickney
can secure companies enough wiling
70 take mart of the risk on these Two
nronerties. he will win out over the
hoard but in taking the risk, the COM
NAMES will be violating the agreement
into which they have entered. Inc re-
sult is in doubt, and the outcome can
NOT mean lower insurance for others,
for 1t VIII De seen lide IL ~ 1900
risks are taken out of the city, the risks
that remain must stand the full bur-
den. -. -
is rank injustice, for it means that
AZ all the local church property IS in
sured in Springfield companies, that all
the premiums go to that city, whereas
thew should stay in Worcester. The
hoard maintains at quite an expense
the fire patrol, supporting it from the
premiums which it gets annually, and
outside writer's do not have to pay one
cent for the assistance which such an
affair gives at fires.
THE board will press matters, and ev-
erv member has been sent a notice Of
fhe meeting in which the above ac-
lions were taken.
11-,0ne rN-rN0En