Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-23
A WARNING
Against wild Cat" In
surance Companies.
Commissioner Carr Gives a
Long List Of Them.
They Seek to Do Business Here in
Spite of the Laws.


whose policies are as worthless as q
Confederate greenback. Agents have
been offered extraordinary commits
siOns and the property owners exceed
ingly low premiums. The Insurance
Department has been deluged with in
quiries and complaints. Property in
sured in these underground concerts
has been burned and the owners have
been unable to recover. Agents who
insured the property have been prose
cuted by the Courts of this State. The
promoters and managers of these com
panies have been indicted by the Fed
eral Courts but the nefarious practice
still continues.
The statutes of this State prohibit
any insurance company of anothe;
state or country from transacting bus
mess therein without license from
the Insurance Commissioner. Afte.
such fire insurance campOny has
been admitted it cannot then transac
business in Maine until it appoints &
resident of this State as it's agent ans
such person has been licensed by tho
Insurance Commissioner to act as the
vides that ''if any person solicits. re
ceives or forwards any risk of appli
cation for insurance to any company
without first receiving such license o!
fraudulently assumes to be an agenl
md thus procures risks and receives
money for premiums he forfeits no,
more than $50 for each offense." The
same statute also provides that IAN in
surance agent shall be personally liza
BILE on all contracts of insurance un-
lawfully made by or through him. d.
rectly or indirectly, for or in behalf o.
my company not authorized to do bus
mess in the State While agents
nave been compelled to pay the losses
sustained by these companies in Maine
from their own pockets there are 9th
ers against whom u judgment might be
of questionable value.
The following article from the Insur-
ance Post of December II, 1904. an in
surance journal published in Chicago
will be of interest at this time and es
pecially that portion showing the
quantity and quality of the assets o.
some of these companies:
IAN unexpected victory was won b.
the Government at the outset of the
hearing in the federal court on its
campaign against the managers O.
| wildcat insurance companies, wher
Stephen w. Jacobs and Charles A
VanAnden. whose cases were called
first, pleaded guilty and threw them
selves on the mercy of the court. The!
had evidently learned something of the
unusually strong case the Government
had worked up against them. Fifty
six witnesses were on hand, and Sly
wagon-loads of documentary evidence
| Both had been indicted on three counts
| or using the mails with intent to de-
| 'raud, in circulating false statements
| about the assets and standing OF the
| ire insurance companies run by them
| The maximum penalty is $500 fine anc
six months Imprisonment on eacf
| count 1t is understood that the de-
| PENDANTS hope to get off with a me
only. They will be sentenced by Judge
| Humphreys, Dec. 9th. The sinilal
cases against E. A. Shanklin. the lead
er Of the outfit. and J. r. Wilson WI
| he heard next week. If they stant
| trial the government attorneys expec
| to send them TO the penitentiary. J. Z
| Russell entered a plea of guilty yester-
day. Jacobs was shown by the evi'
| 1ence in the hands of the Government
20 have organized some 30 corpora
lions, few of which were legitimate
Among them were the following fire
| insurance companies: The Merchant:
| e Manufacturers. the Germania, the
Fire Assurance Company, the Assur'
| ance Association Of Illinois, the Equi'
| table Fire. the Prudential Fire and thu
| Marine Insurance Company. He, II
| connection with VanAnden as genera
agent. circularized the agents ant
property holders generally, claiming
that they were legitimate companie:
with large assets. detailed statement:
of which were given. First mortgage!
on Illinois real estate and gold bond'
were claimed. but the Government Sc
cured possession of the entire assets
with papers showing that the lot
amounting to $500. 900, had been pur
chased for $3.50 and were of no valu'
whatever. These companies were no
licensed by any state. seldom pald an!
| losses. but by cutting rates secured
| large volume of business. using tn
| mails to reach their victims. Jacobs
has A long criminal record.
| This subject is receiving the atten
| ton of the National Convention OF In
| surance Commissioners and bill wa!
some time since introduced i'm Congress
tn exclude the literature of these con
| Germs from the United States mails.
| Tn 1902 the Commissioners published
tho following list of companies whoh
the committee having charge OF I'M
matter believed to be wholly worth
less or concerning which it was una
BILE to obtain any reliable Information
from any State Department.
American Underwriters, chicago
| Not licensed: composed of the Contra
and Citizens ms. Co.
| American Trust & ms CO., Cnicaso
Aetna ms. Co, Louisville, by. IN
corporated in Delaware in 1900.
Aetna Fire; New Orleans.
American Fire, Wilmington, Del.
American Fire. Terre Haute. lnd.
Amazon. Charleston. W. Va; head
quarters. Lima. 0.
American Fire ms. Co, Chicago no
licensed. =,
Citizens Ins. Co. Chicago. Not IL
censed, does not claim to be an liiinoi
corporation ,...,