Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-06-12
rHE VALUED POLICY Law.
Hon. J. sterling nIorton's Vigorous OPP
position TO Present Nebraska Law.
(Frorn the Conservative.

Hon. J. Sterling MOrtOn's Vigorous OPP.
position TO Present Nebraska Law.
(From the Conservatlve.)
The Conservative has received COM
munication, criticising the opposition
| of this paper to the valued policy law.
Our critic states that: s"The law has
been in force in this state for several
years and do not believe there has
been any increase in suspicious fires.
/ do not think the law places premi-
UNI upon arson nor that it gives the
Endorsement of the law to the act Nor.
do I believe it leads men to insure
property for more than its real value
in the hope that it will burn
If the views of the Conservatives
correspondent were supported by facts
and upheld by fire statistics they would
make strong case against the repeal
of the yalued-policy laws. Unfortu-
pately his statements are not corrobo-
rated by the testimony of the best au-
thorities obtainable in fire insurance,
viz, state insurance commissioners.
Mr.. A. f. Dean, in his work upon the
Rationale of Fire Insurance, says:
'sThat the law has raised the aggre-
gate cost of fire insurance to the Anne
rican people; that it is the direct cause
| of an untold amount of arson, perjury,
and murder.no one familiar with fire
| statistics can for an instant doubt.
The dangers of the law to life, proper
| ty and morals have repeatedly been
pointed out by state officials.
During the past year, on the ground
that it offered an incentive to crime,
the law was vetoed by the governors
of Colorado, Nevada and Utah, and the
governor of West Virginia refused his
signature. In. his last annual report,
the insurance commissioner OF Ohio
published statistics showing the in
crease in fire losses in that state since
the enactment of the law, and ends
with the following comment:
II have no hesitation in believing that
over-insurance, sanctioned and encour
aged by the valued-poicy law, is the
cause Of the greater portion of this
increased fire waste, and that this un-
necessary waste will continue and
grow worse 80 long as this statute re-
mains a part of the insurance code,
1.-THE state insurance commissioners
of Michigan, in his last annual report,
condemns the law in language equally
strong, and estimates the losses from
moral hazard, arising from over-insur-
ance in his state, at rs per cent of the
aggregate fire waste; in other words,
that incendiarism is the cause of one
fire out of every four.
eThe long aforementioned reign OF
Thugee in India seems incredible to
American intelligence, yet American
legislation has unclaimed an influence
1 no less destructive to life, property and
morals. The Thug needed for his work
at least a. modicum of physical cour-
age; the frebug does not. + The Thug
tcuts his victims threats with. neatness
and dispatch, one at time; the bug
subjects his victims, regardless of age
or sex to the slow fortunes of fire, a
houseful of people at time"
4 This testimony, of the insurance
commissioners of the several states in
!: which yalued-policy laws are In vogue,
shows that the law has resulted in in
creasing suspicious fires and conse-
4 quently increased the fire rate; that it
has placed a premium upon arson"
and that it s'leads men to insure prop
erty for more than its real value in
\ the hope that it will burn
4 Only dishonest and INSCRIPTIONS
men will misrepresent the value of the
4 property insured. Honest insurers re-
port the true valuation. AS the law
increases fire rates it is then in favor
4 of the dishonest insurer, and opposed
to the interests of the honest policy
holder. Misrepresentation in any 9TH
er contract constitutes fraud and viii
ates the contract. In an insurance
contract it is made legal and the COM
panies are held responsible for losses
by reason Of it. Is there any reason
why different principle should be APP
piled to a policy of fire insurance than
lis applicable to other forms Of con-
tract? We believe that the public in
terest would be best conserved by re-
Ipealing the valued policy law and hav-
A ing the state insurance department ex-
ercise greater diligence and make more
careful and thoro inquiry into the
character and integrity of the men APP
1 plying for agents certificates. This
would better protect the community
from the acts OF dishonest agents than
q law which enables dishonest agents
and dishonest insurers to mutually
profit, the former by reason of the
larger premium and the latter because
of the oyer-valuation.
/ ..--------
! The surveyors for the proposed rail-
road from Dubuque to Clinton have