Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-02-19
THE COMPANIES HIT.
Nearly 100 Insurance Companies Will
Divide the New Jersey Loss.

tcrbury fire. has opened the year IN a
way to intensity the pessimism OF the
pessimists in the fire insurance busl-
ness In the downtown insurance DIS
trict in this city yesterday there was
almost as much activity as on week
cay. 1t was estimated that about 100
companies had been hit more or less
severely at Paterson. and all day long
officials of the companies, big and NJ
tie, were trying to cipher out how much
it was going to cost. officers OF num-
Der of insurance companies said that
they were going personally to Paterson
Paterson to look into the extent OF
their losses. This is a little unusual.
The secretary of one of the larger
companies said that the two most i'm
portant results of the fire would proba-
bly, be the withdrawal of several of the
foreign companies, particularly English
associations, from the American BUSH
ness, and the total withdrawal of some
of the smaller American companies
which have been doing business at a
loss.
There is not one insurance company
In the United States that has made any
money in the last three years said this
official, and the only way the majority
of them have been able to exist has
been thru the wonderful increase in the
value of their investment securities IN
the bull market. My own company
cleared $4,000 net last year and not one
cent of it in the insurance business
which was carried at a positive loss
THE English companies have not this
advantage and one of their agents told
me the other day that If the stockhold-
ers Of his company knew the exact
status of the American business they
would discontinue it at once. That Is
why believe some of the English COM
panies will be forced out by this pres
ent loss.
II estimate that there are about one
hundred companies carrying risks in
Paterson. If the reported loss of $780,
100000 is divided into half, to avoid ex-
aggeration, the loss will stand about
this way on an insurance of so per
cent: Twenty companies will lose in
the neighborhood of 100000 each; an
other twenty will lose about $4,000
each, ten will lose 100000 each, and the
remaining 100000 Of loss will be pretty
evenly distributed among the twenty
five remaining companies. This is about
the way the losses ran in the Water
bury fire. and the proportion will hold
true in this case. We lost $4,000 in
Waterbury, and when go to the office
tomorrow morning, if do not have to
charge off 100000 for Paterson losses,
it will be 100000
This same man named number of
the companies which, in his opinion.
held risks in Paterson. In each instance
the company named is well prepared to
meet whatever it's loss may be. This list
included the Hartford Insurance Com
pany, which has reinsured many Pater-
son risks for the Lancashire; the Ger
American. the 41tna, the Liver
pool London and Globe, the North Brit
ish, the Home. the Royal. the Ham
burg Bremen (American branch), the
Hanover, the Sun. the Merchants and
American Insurance companies Of
Newark, and the American Insurance
Company of Philadelphia. The losses
to these companies Will not be 30 seri-
Gus as the smaller losses that have
overtaken companies doing business on
smaller capital and with more slender
resources.
Francis o. Affeld, American manager
of the Hamburg Bremen Company, said
last night that his company's loss
would be serious, but not so bad as it
would have been if the Paterson silk
mills had been burned. I'VE consid-
cred the mills a better risk, all things
considered, than any other Paterson
property, excepting residences" he
said, and have taken them when pos
sible. Residential insurance is the
choicest, but that has been snapped up
by the New Jersey companies, and for
that reason in this fire they will come
out lighter than is generally supposed.
The same thing was true in Waterbury.
the home companies, such as the Hart
many outside concerns.
II went to Paterson about two years
ago and cancelled about one-half of our
liabilities there because in my judg-
ment the city had not improved it's wa
ter supply system to keep pace with the
increase in population. The mains
seemed to me too small for the demand
made upon them. There was n splendid
supply of water to use, but the facilities
for using 1t We're not in proportion"
Edouard Mostert, of Wild & Kenne-
dy said that he was sure no individual
concern in this city would suffer great
ly. as the insurance was largely distrib-
uted. In explaining this Mr.. Mostert
said:
The big insurance companies have
been shy in taking large risks in Pater-
son owing to the trouble there has been
In the mills there. Most big policies
that have been written on Paterson
have been split up and in
many cases the insurance on large risks
is held by at least dozen different
lr. Henry W. Eaton, manager of the
Liverpool. London and Globe Company,
said that while his company carried a
great deal of insurance in Paterson he
did not think their loss would be very
great. He had men investigating the
damage done and the reports received
from them We're not alarming.
Charles G. Smith, secretary of the
German American Insurance Company.
said that his concern held policies on
the First and Second Baptist churches,
the Quackenbush department store, the
Boston Store and the News building
Their loss on these. he said, would not
exceed $4,000, as they carried only part
of the risks.
A number of the companies had
branch offices burned up in Paterson.
do n oil a n