The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-01-25

Eight Of the Iowa stock conpanles
with capital stock Of $500, 900 paid up
for the year 1897 they received as net
surplus over capital and all other liabll.
tiles $75S 1853 90, a very snug little sum
for those eight companies for one year.
Average per cent. of losses paid to pre-.
miums received 35.l.
The JOB foreign companies pay ave.
rage per cent. of SIS . to premiums re.
ceived so \ on can see that for every
$1,000 paid to the stock companies the
people get only $3.50 back.
Now let us examine and see If farmers
mutuals are any benefit as compared
with stock companies: Our mutual
companies have been in existence for
ten to thirty years, and we have their
sworn statements to the conditions OF
each company every year which shows
the cost per $1,000 for the past twenty.
five years as two dollars in the Farmers
Mutual, of Decatur County. and the
average cost for all the farmers mutuals
in the state was two dollars and forty.
four cents per $1,000, while in the stock
| companies the cost would not have been
less than four dollars per $1,000. In
most companies five dollars per $1,000
up, r..,, r,A ,nn
l q
| farmers in our county who insure in the
home mutual. say $1,000 each. That
would be 100000. The cost of the
membership would be two dollars each
which is $780, Now at the end of five
years we find there has been losses to
| the amount of $1,000 which has taken an
assessment OF ten mills to the dollar to
paw. Now add that to the two mills
YOU have paid for membership and it
makes twelve mills or twelve dollars
/ for $1,000 of property for five years.
Now in stock company you would
have paid twenty mills on twenty dol.
lars for the same $1,000 of property for
| five wears. Now the 100 farmers who
have insured in the home company have
paid 200 dollars for five years insurance,
while the 100 farmers who have insured
| in stock com pany have paid $1,000 for
the same amount of property five
| wears and the 5000 paid by the farmers
4 in the Mutual remains in the county,
while the $1,000 paid by the farmers in
the stock company goes out OF the
i county or out OF the state if insured in
some foreign company. And the only
money that ever comes back out OF the
$1,000 as shown by the Auditors report
is35 per cent. or SOP out of the $1,000
paid by them. And the 100 farmers
who have insured in the home company
have paid only $1,000 and have paid
$1,000 to some farmer or farmers in the
county and each one has eight dollars
in his pocket and has had the use OF
that money for Ave years.
| Now, with these facts before the far
mers Of Decatur county, why not leave
these stock or speculative companies
alone? and in the future when you want
to insure your property, do it in the
Farmers Mutual of Decatur county
which has been doing business for
twenty six years in the county and have
paid all losses and are out of debt.
Mutual insurance is simply an agree.
ment of any number Of persons to help
each other bear the Losses they may
have for any number Of years with
policies running for five years or more
rs in five years the property may need
re-appraisinY, so it has become the
custom to insure for five years but nc
mutual con- pany can organize with les'
than $50, OOO of risks written to CON-