The age-herald., 1901-02-11
FIRE ASSURANCE
 QUESTION AGAIN Some of the Conditions in the
 Policies BOARD OF TRADE AT WORK Will Hold Another Conference This Af- ternoon-Attorney Tominson Talks Special Agent Tanners Re-
 port Not Yet Ready.
BOARD OF TRADE AT WORK

The board of control of the Board of Trade will hold an adjourned meeting in the office of John W. Tomlinson, the boards attorney, this afternoon at o'clock, to continue the discussion of Birminghams insurance rat ing. Special Agent Tanner of the Southeast ern Tariff Association will not be ready to submit his report or proposition to the board before tine latter part of the week. but some of the members thought 1t advisable to hold meeting, even though there was little or nothing to be done until the association was heard from. MT. Tomlinson says he believes in frequent meetings for the discussion of the insurance question, so that the situation may become fully understood.
 The officers of the board express them selves as more hopeful than ever of getting an improved rating for Birmingham.
 Condition of Contracts.
 The 75 per cent co-insurance clause un- der which New Orleans, Mobile, Montgom- cry and some of the Georgia cities operate Is as follows:
 sIt Is a part of the consideration of this policy, and the basis upon which the rate of premiums is fixed, that the assured shall maintain insurance on each item of prop erty insured by their policy of not less than 75 per cent of the actual cash value there of. and that failing so to do, the assured shall be an insurer to the extent of such deficit, and in that event shall bear his, her or their proportion of any loss'
 The three-quarters clause, under which Birmingham and other towns except those referred to, operate, read:
 Tt is understood and agreed to bs con-
 dllion of this insurance, that in the event
 of loss or. damage by fire to the property insured under this policy, this company
 shall not be liable for an amount greater
 than three -fourths of the actual cash value
 of each item of property insured by this
 policy (not exceeding the amount insured on each such itern) at the time immediate ly preceding such loss or damage; and in the event of additional insurance-if any Is permitted hereon-then this company shall be liable for it's proportion only of three-fourths such cash value of each item insured at the time of the fire, not exceed ing the amount insured each such item.'
 Code of Alabama. At the meeting of the board of control Saturday reference was made incidently to article of the code. This article has been embodied in circular letter, issued by Pres ident John w. O'Nein, which reads as fol- lows:
 "The attention of the members of the Board of Trade and the members of the Legislature is called to the following ar tcle of the Code of Alabama, providing that twenty-five per cent in addition to l the actual loss may be recovered of any | insurance company belonging to any tariff | association, which provision, however is l defeated and the purpose of the Legisla- | ture thwarted by the insertion in the in- 1 surance policies of the three-quarter 1 clause
 the law referred to-" said John w. l TomIinson, the attorney for the Board of l Trade, was intended, as the caption of the law says: To prevent assacia-
 tions to fix rates of insurance by proyd- l ing twenty-five per cent over and above l the actual loss. to be recovered from any insurance company belonging to any tar 1 in association. The author of the law l seems to have overlooked the fact that the 1 insurance companies could defeat, as they 1 have done, the purpose of the law by put i ting in their contracts that they would only l pay three-fourths of the actual loss, in which event. even with the twenty-five per cent penalty added, they would not have to pay the full amount of the actual loss