The age-herald., 1901-02-12
INSURANCE RATES
 AGAIN DISCUSSED Question More Fully ventil- lated at Meeting Yesterday SEVERAL POINTS RAISED President o'Nelll of Board of Trade Says Birmingham Is Being Badly
 Treated-speclaI Agent Tan
 ner Defends Companies.
SEVERAL POINTS RAISED

The Board of Control of the Board of Trade held an adjourned meeting yester- day afternoon at 4 o'clock In the office
 of John w Tominson, attorney for the board for the purpose of continuing the
 consideration of the insurance question. Special Agent Tanner of the Southeast
 ern Tariff Assocltlon was in attendance to answer questions. He promised to prepare in writing detailed report or proposition in relation to this city's in-
 surance rating and said he would prob
 ably have 1t ready to lay before the
 board by Wednesday next
 President John w. o'Neill occupied the
 chair and upon calling the meeting to or der submitted the following reznarks. This investigation by the Board of Trade of fire insurance rates in this city has developed up to date the following
 facts
 T. That Birmingham Is being treated worse than any city In the South simi- lariy situated in regard to insurance rates, fact which many of the local agents openly admit.
 '2. That these rates are fixed by the Southeastern Tariff Association, having It's offices at Atlanta Ga., and having
 Jurisdiction of North and South Caro- lima, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
 "3 That all the insurance companies, with the exception of about ten doing business in Alabama, are members of the Southeastern Tariff Association and abide by the rates fixed by that associa- ton.
 "A. That, according to the admission of MT. Tanner, the special agent of the Southeastern Tariff Association, Bir- mingham Is classed In regard to insur- ance rates as a modified first class city, and yet Birmingham, In regard to resi- dences, has not been getting even the rate of second class city, which rate Is 75 cents. MT. Tanner, however, has as sured the Board of Trade that this mat ter will be remedied.
 "h That the three-quarter clause was originally put In by; insurance compan les in policies issued on property outside of cities and towns where the agerts could not inspect the peroperty but has since been extended to cities and towns and exists everywhere In Alabama, with two exceptions. 4
 "6. That 1t Is manifestly not to the !n- terest of Birmingham to have the three quarter clause or the eo-tnsurance clause in policies, and that it is fairer to the insurer and to the insured to have the policies issued for just such amount as the insurance company desires to insure and then for the insured to be permitted to collect the actual loss, whatever il may be-
 "7 That Article III. of the Code of Ala bnma, which, according to its caption was intended to prevent tariff assooin- tions from fixing insurance rates, is de- feated of it's purpose by the insertion of the three-quarter clause and the co-.n- surance clause In insurance policies for even then, with the 25 per cont added the insured will collect less. ttln. the ac- tual loss, though he has paid premium on larger amount"
 Some Questions.
 At the conclusion of the presidents } statement Mr Tanner was piled with questions, the first being with reference to the unoccupled and occupied building ratse. The uncccupied rate, he said, was fixed by the basis rate. plus the deficlen- cies of the buildings and exposure char acter. The occupied rate changed, he eN- plained, with the character of each oc- cupancy being determined by it's hazard to fire and its susceptibility to damage by water; that these rates were arrived al in a purely mathematical way. With reference to reduction in the rates on the South Highlands, MT. Tan ner stated that the matter was passed on and the rates reduced at a meeting of the executive committee in Atlanta on ...e 31st of January, and that the pro- mitigation slip would have been issIcd promptly but for the illness of the sec retary.
 | MT. Tanner was asked the amount of | premiums collected in Birmingham. and | his reply was he did not know. He sa Id | his association had no interest in tho | question of the volume of business done, | and therefore kept no record. MT. Tom | linson stated that he had heard that not less than ,Oo0-probably s25O.0Oo-wns
 collected last year, while the fire loss | was not over $100000.
 MT O'Nelll wanted to know why 1t was that some of the companies give certain
 merchants here flat rate. MT. Tanner l explained that 1t was done only In cases | where certain conditions were complied l with. One of the few cases of the spe- l cial rate and conditions referred to was | that of Loveman, Joseph & Loeb, who 1 used a sprinkler.
 Mir. ONeill asked MT. Tanner to state
 the substance of the proposition whicl,
 his association made to the insurance 1 committee of tho board year or more
 ago. Mr. Tanner replied that he could
 not answer that question. as he was not | here then, and therefore did not handle
 the matter. He said that as the question 1 was now being taken up as new propo- | sition, he was not concerned about the
 lose no time in preparing written prop
 osation, and would probably have it com l pleted by Wednesday. He had applied | to the Water Works Company for cer- tain records, and was informed they were | in Pittsburg He would not wait for | them, but would go ahead and prepare his
 report without the information from the | water works.
 | An Open System. Samuel Earle said he would like to see | a system of open insurance in vogue here, l so that merchant could insure for us much or as little as he chose without re- gard to co-insurance or three-quarters | value clauses He asked why this could | not he done MT Tanner replied that