The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1904-08-11
Leonard Durshas Asks State to
Collect Insurance From
Wild Cat Company.
LOSS AMOUNTED TO $1,000.
zeno M. Host Warns Kenosha People
to Examine Policies Covering their
Property from Loss by Fire.

The ravages of the so-ca11ed wild
cat insurance companies in Kenosha
have been brought to light by letter
sent by Leonard Durshas, residing at
1O1 Main street, to the state insur-
ance commissioner, asking that the
state official give his aid to the Keno
sha man in collecting loss of 81, 600
sustained some time ago by the burn
ing of the furniture in his fiat. Dur
shas lived in the flat over the head
quarters of the Brand Brewing COM
pany. The fiat was Quilted by fire
several months ago, and since that
time the man has been making an eff
fort to collect the insurance on the
furniture which had been written by
company known as the Security
Fire Underwriters company and the
Underwriters Alliance of Chicago"
1t has been absolutely impossible to
collect the money, and one of the COM
panies cannot be located in Chicago.
Commissioner Host has sent let
ter to Durshas notifying him that the
companies writing the policies were
not licensed to do business in Wiscon-
sin, and for this reason the state de-
partment could do nothing to aid the
Kenosha man. Both of the policies
were written by Chicago agents, and
they were written at so low a rate
that a man with ordinary care could
not but have known that the com
IA 4 " nfI1cn 4n HI S4xy
under the policies.
1t is claimed that the same compan-
les have written hundreds of policies
on property owned by foreigners in
the city, and the efforts of Durshas to
collect should serve as a warning to
the holders of similar contracts.
The foreigners who seek protec-
ton from fire should see to it that the
policies turned over to them are only
policies written by companies
licensed to do business in Wisconsin,
and then all losses can be collected.
In regard to the case the insurance
commissioner has sent out a commu-
nication which is in part as follows:
'"This is apparently another case OF
unauthorized insurance written in
this state in January, 1904, for 81 900,
upon which the insured will not re-
ceive cent, at least, the Insurance
Department of Wisconsin is unable to
be of any assistance to the party suf-
fering the loss, because the com
panies have not complied with the
laws of this state, and hence are not
under the supervision of the Insur-
ance department of this state.
''This makes the fifth case which
has been called to the attention of In
surance Commissioner Host during
his term, where Wisconsin people
have suffered loss in wild cat com
panies.
1t was only recently that w. M.
Cowe11, of Kenosha, was arrested by
the postal authorities for being con-
nected with a wild cat insurance COM
pany. In view of this fact, together
with the case that was called to the
insurance commissioners attention
this morning, Commissioner Host sug-
gests that every person in Kenosha
county having an insurance policy
ought to refer to his policy and see if
the company in which it is placed is
authorized to transact business in
Wisconsin, for it may be possible
that there are large number of wild
cat insurance policies in existence in
Kenosha county"