Evening journal., 1901-02-13
DIR. G. W. MARSHALL
MAKHN RBPORT I
New State Commissioner Says
That Insurance Laws
Are Defective
slaa correlranasnea nvsnIng IournaI.

stan Correspondence Evening Journal.
Dover. Feb. l3-State Insurance
C,mmiss Cner George W. Marahall
! placed his report ina the
hands oi Senator Knox yesterday and
me had ii read in the Senate and
spread on The journal lt Is as toll
lows
TO the Senate and House of Repesen
tatives.
Genueman lt is Incumbent upon the
| insurance commissioner 90 report To-
each session of the General Assembly
ca or before the Goth day oi February,
/ the receipts and expenses oi his de-
/ partmOnt for the two years previous
etc. chapter 3iI, volume IA, section 2.
paragraph s. Laws of Dalawara.
The term Of olice fer which my
! predecessor was commissioned was
curtaied three months by the amend
cd Constitution, and as DE Is not in Of
lCe he hcids to the opinion that 1t is
uot as his duty to mako a report To-
tho General Assembly. That thGe shall
! be- no derelict.on on the part OF the
/ present C1mmissiuncr of insurance.
/ herewith blg 20 report that / tcOk the
oath of office on january J., 1901. and
bc,won that date and January "a 4
| received the books. papers and seal of
The department, and the blank licenses
and certificates OF authority tC agents
and companies. the latter obtained
from the secretary OF State.
b'rCm the books Ol my office, as au-
dited by the auditor OF accounts, from
October / 1898. TO January, 1901,
find the amount turned into the State
treasury was $3S,823.61 exclusive OF
the salary of the commissioner
There IS no record OF expenses In
the office.
hold hat am not the proper pcr-
d son 20 report tha Official acts OF my
, predecessor
The biennial report of The former
cpmmisslunct Peter Is. Meredith, wa.
not authorized to De- published ant
p the reports of my Immediate prede
Crs1r have never been prepared. "a
= they were not authorized 10 bg publish
a. ca by the last General Assembly.
I would be pleased to know what IFS th
u pleasure OF the General Assembly "a
to- the publication OF thUca last thTe
u reports. Within the past welve days
n aG insurance commissioner, have al
n ready received S11 ,72t.GS and derosiie
the same in the Farmers Bank at DO
. ver. and as no contingency fund wa
turned over TO me by my predecessor
and as yet none has been provided b.
~ law for this department ] have my
Il self furnished $50 for postage stamp
y and about $40 for Uniasd States dOcu
= meltary STAMPS. besides dofgayin
a other expenses OF stationery, printing
b, etc, and the expense of clerk hire.
On "a careful study OF the insWanc
laws find that they are defective
and az times inconsistent with the ra
" uniremcnts with the business OF .nsuI
anee and with one another. The gen
~ eral law organizing the department. q
y insurance I'm Delaware was passed D.
'i the Legislature in 1879; subsoquen
legislation has amended the law an
y, given special privileges to certain com
y panies which materially conflict wit
'e the general law, and. in the opinion q
~ the present attorney super
y. vene the general law.
IL The insurance law specifies that th
Us insurance commissioner shall gran
D. certificates of authority to Delawar
il companies only when they shall hay
q paid-up capital Of $780, 000 The Ger
h- eral Assembly. at dates later tina
or the passage OF the general insuranC
y law. has at various times granted sp'
.l- cinl charters 10 insurance cCmnani.
iil with p paid-up capital of less tina
ne 500 900. and In some instances as To-
nj as S25 600 "c0sh or good security an
is one company has been authorized
on do business with a capital of $500
ng The chancellor has ruled that u
ct measure of the duties Of these con
he panies is contained Ia their charter
or Because one General Assembly mu
at have equal powers with another Gel
II oral Assembly and as the acts OF j
is corporation are the latter. they a
he therefore, the conclusive announc
mont Of the win Of the law-maldI
IL body. The insurance comm 'ssioner,
en 1 understand and interpret the law
We acts under the authority of the insu
res anca law. therefore, he cannot gra
ill regular licenses to those compani
led which do not comply herewith.
in The insurance commissioner cam
in prevent these companies from dOli
IL business because they have compli
to with their charters, therefore the
l0- companies so organized, are under
by direct supervision, / would respectful
wn recommend that these apparent a
rs inconsistencies be obviated which,
irs. my Judgment, can be done by an {
So revising and re-enabling the genel
tie. Insurance laws OF Delaware
lO.- Respectfully submitted
the GEORGE W. MARSHALL.
ton Insurance Commissioner