The Republican journal., 1902-03-20
THE INSURANCE SITUATION.
An Interview with a Member of the Firm of
Field & Quimby.

| al Interview with a Member of the Firm OF
Field Quimby.
Journal man interviewed Mr.. Geo. A
Qulmby of Field & Quimby regarding the
insurance situation. sLook here" said
| George, "Next to the question who was in
command at the battle of Santiago there is
probably nothing the average man knows Sc
little about as insurance, and what he does
know is usually wrong. Now Belfast has
always been reckoned as having high rate
OF Insurance; higher than other cities of
its size in the State. Nine business men out
of ten think SO. But it is not so. On the
contrary, insurance in Belfast is as low as
the lowest cities in the State and much lower
in Knox county, Waterville in Kennebec
county, and Portland in Cumberland county,
the rate on frame dwellings under hydrant
protection is 80 cents for years; and that
is what Belfast has. In Ellsworth in Han
cock county and in Bangor in Penobscot
county the rate is S1.00 for five years, while
in Houlton in ArooStook county it is 81 20
lOl 0dl bduSOI. w dIeIEllle
and Portland all have better fire depart
mentS than Belfast. Certainly there can be
no question about Bangor and Portland
Even our Chief Engineer seems to think we
pay higher insurance than other places,
for he suggests having a hose house on
Northport Avenue, thinking it might reduce
the rate. Certainly we do need hose
house there, in order to keep the rate where
it is, but if there were dozen hose houses
down the avenue the rate could not be any
lower, for 9-10 of one per cent. is the lowest
rate in the State, and that is what we now
have.
Take our store buildings and compare
them with Camden and Rockland. The
rate on the building occupied by Fuller &
Cobb, Rockland, is so cents on the French
Block, Camden, one Of the largest there,
S1.O0 The rate on the Masonic Block,
Camden, is S1.OO. Our Odd Fellows Block
pays so cents, the Masonic Temple so cents,
and the rate on our other buildings COM
pares as favorably with others in the State
and are lower than in most Cities so you
see all this talk about Belfast being mark
for the insurance companies is all nonsense.
GLOW about the advance in rates ?" The
journal man asked.
'Well, there is an advance. We have
been officially notified, and Belfast has
rest of the country, and it is going to take
For the last two years the insurance
companies as whole have not taken in as
much in premiums as they have paid out in
losses throughout the country, and they
have been obliged to mark up their goods.
! The advance has already been made in the
| South, West and Middle States, and New
| England was the last to get it; but the con.
| t1agrations in Paterson and Waterbury
brought it to head. AS | understand it.
the present rate on dwellings, whether un,
der hydrant protection or not, is not affect.
! ed Neither are those buildings occupied fol
mercantile purposes, banks, churches, no
| tells, school houses, societies, and some
other classes of property, if under hydrant
protection. But it will affect stocks Of
goods, whether under hydrant protection OF
not, and all property outside of hydran
protection, except dwellings, The advance
will be % per cent. on the present rate. The
advance applies to every city and town il
! New England, and not to Belfast alone.
"Why is it that the rate is advanced OF
contents of building and not on the build
! ing itself?"
''Ill tell you. A building may be slightly
| damaged while the stock would be totally
ruined. For instance, let a fire start in
| confectionery store. After the fire depart
ment has squirted about a couple of tons o
ness of the stock of confectionery would b.
| gone, while the building might not be dam
aged $50. You see stocks have not only tt
contend against the fire hazard, but smoke
and water damage cut quite a figure, from
which the building itself generally escapes
Look at the Odd Fellows fire. The stocl
was damaged eight times as much as th'
building.
"The fact is that after hundred years o
study of insurance the men who have beef
running the companies, with all the pas
experience before them, come pretty nea
knowing what is hazardous and what i
not. You and | may think certain elias
of property is rated too high, but expert
ence tells them differently. If | could tel
you what | don't know about insurance
could fill up The Journal; but what | d.
know you can put in a small space"
ORITUAPY