Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-05-09
INCUBAToRS ANDINs
Some Facts Which Will Be of Inter-

est to Many Poultrymen.
To get as full a statement as posi-
bic of tile attitude of the insurance
companies toward incubator risks the
writer called on the agent through
whom he places his own insurance and
through his courtesy was able to get
interviews with number of the lead
ing insurance men of Boston and state
ments from them of the position of the
insurance companies in the matter.
None Of the companies cares to write
policies covering dwelling houses or
barns or other outbuildings If incu
bators are run in them.
Some companies give special permits
to run incubators in cases where in
vestigation as to the conditions and
the agents report as to the party in
surfing satisfy them that the risk is
relatively slight, but these permits. as
rule, are granted as business favorS
to good customers. They are excep-
tons. not to be taken as rules or prece-
dents.
few companies make special rates
for property where incubators are OPP
Grated, these rates being in the only
case where we could get the figures
two times the usual rates for protect
ed (by fire Department. property and
two and one-half times the usual rates
for unprotected property. The only
ones, however, we could learn of which
do this are the Worcester (Mass.) and
Portland Mo hoardc Of ,1udorxrriforc
The insurance companies generally
regard incubators as more objectiona-
BILE than oil stoves, because the latter
are not kept constantly burning and
are rarely left unattended when in
use, so that while many fires do origi-
nate from oil stoves such fires are gen.
orally observed at the very start, and
the average loss from fires originating
this way is light.
Kerosene lamps left burning at night
they object to. but regard as less dan
gerous than incubators for two rea-
sOns-first. because such lamps are
not burned for "a hours without trim
ming or cleaning, as incubator lamps
are, but as a rule are trimmed and
cleaned after having been burned, at
most, 10 or IL hours; second, because
the lamp is in room where some one
sleeps or room adjoining an occupied
room, and thus in case of fire from it
the fire is likely to be quickly detect
ed, while. with an incubator in the eel
floor of the house. fire starting from an
incubator easily gains strong Roadway
before being detected.
In way the objections of the insur-
ance companies to incubators are the
oretical, for none of them are able to
give statistics showing that facts will
support their theories. OF course hay
ing generally refused to accept risks
where incubators were concerned their
books will not reveal anything as to
losses traceable to that cause. AS we
told these gentlemen, we think it very
doubtful whether they could prove that
their objections to incubators were
well founded. We hear of very few
cases of loss to poultrymen through
fires originating from incubators, while
we do hear of quite number of con-
fiagrations, not often very large. start
ing from lamp breeders.
AS the matter stands now, insurance
where there are incubators seems to
be principally a question of particular
persons and circumstances. and even
while the boards mentioned do accept
incubator risks at special rates it does
not appear that they do so indiscrim-
inately. The opinion of the insurance
men seemed to be that if man could
not induce agents who knew him and
with whom he was doing business to
write his insurance on property where
an incubator was operated there
would be little prospect of his being
able to place his insurance elsewhere.
Thus it becomes principally a ques-
ton of satisfying local agent that in
any particular case the conditions re-
duce the supposed risk enough to JUS
tify the insurance company in accept
ing it. so that when you get at the
bottom of the matter it depends very
much on the agents and the would be
insured keeping cool and being reason
able.
We think that the insurance compa-
MES might well adopt more liberal
policy in this matter. But after going
over the ground pretty carefully it
seems to us that this is not likely to
come except as it develops from pres
ent conditions. which, we believe. are
much more favorable than those of
some years ago. AS exceptions to the
rule not to accept risks where incuba
tors are operated become more numer-
Gus. we think the companies will find
that their theories as to the probabill-
ties of losses from fires originating
from incubators have unduly magnified
the risks and will in time come TO con-
slider an incubator properly protected
as adding but little to the risk Farm
Poultry.