The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-03-30
FIRE INSURANCE
 RATES DISCUSSED
Said That Companies Declare
 Big Dividends
REPORT OF THE SPECTATOR
Shows That One Company Paid It's Stockholders S2,116,757 During Last Ten Years-lncludes
 "Period of Disaster"

The recent articles in The Age-Heraid regarding the alleged increase In the rates of fire insurapce during the past twelve months. have attracted attention throughout the state.
 The consensus of opinion among most of the local insurance men is that the general advance of 25 per cent which LOOK place less than year ago was apsolute- ly necessary in order for the companies to declare dividends on money invested. They also maintain that there was scarce ly an insurance company In the Unlteo States that did not lose money In Ala bama last year. This was due to the large fire losses in the state curing l9Oz and especially in Birmingham. One man stated that several fire insurance com nanies went out of business last year be- cause they could not keep from losing money.
 On the other hand, reports come from New York to the effect that not only dld fire insurance companies make money last year, but that the rates have advanced so much that public meeting Of nusi- ness men to take some action regarding the matter is not improbable. The New York Commercial of Thursday says:
 Public Meeting May be Called.
 "The protest against the exorbitant fire insurance rates may take definite form in the calling of public meeting to con- slider what steps shall be taken to secure some measure of relief. It Is the opinion of many business men that such meet ing would be productive of immediate re- suits.
 "rhe Produce Exchange has inaugural ed contest and other exchanges and bus mess organizations have expressed sym paihv with the movement All that re- mains Is for some one of the powerful organizations of business men to call meeting, and invite all business men to attend to start movement which the in- surance companies could not ignore.
 "The matter has been generally discuss ed and call may come at any time, un- less the influence of the insurance com- panies in the combine is strong enough to prevent it.
 On Wednesday of last week the New York Commercial contained an editorial on Fire Insurance Earnings" extracts from which follow
 Low Earnings Justify Increase.
 "To the plea of the fire insurance com panies that the recent advance in pre- mium rates is justified by low earnings, or actual losses in operation a most sig
 Ia hxrt trr r of a communication in yesterdays Com- mercial.
 "Quoting from the Spectator Chart, he showed that one company-whose pres ident had publicly declared that there is little or no money in the business and no announcement in 1t for the invest ment of independent capital-has actually paid out in dividends $2,116, 757 during the past ten years; and these years include the period of disaster so lugubriously referred to by numerous fire insurance officials and agents. These dividends rep- resent an average of 21 per cent on the companys capital and over 25 per cent for the past five years. Tn addition, the earnings of the company have meanwhile permitted an increase in It's surplus from $1 ,5OO,oO0 to S5,7OO,OOO. Still, It's officials insist, along with those of the other com panies in the combine that premium rates must be doubled and more in order that the companies may live and remain solvent.
 Salaries Are High.
 And all the world knows, too, that the salaries paid to most insurance officials are extremely liberal-in many instances enormous compared with the pay of sal aried officials in banks, trust companies and other like branches of business; and many other items of expense are corre- spondingly high In searching for the best illustrations of business economies no sane investigator would ever approach an insurance company, either fire or life.
 Capital In any considerable amount may not as yet be quite ready to go into the fire insurance business to compete with the combine. but the latter itself lets out some significant facts occasion ally that may be helpful some day in se- curing reasonable insurance rates for property owners"