The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-02-11

months of 1903, the latest complied and
tabulated by the Maryland officials.
reads: Total premium receipts of local
companies S16S, 629.49; of foreign insur-
ance companies. $3.50. s0S-15. and of other
state concerns, $493, S10.S7, giving a
grand total of $845.24S.51.
Another phase of the Baltimore stu
alton that should be considered, ac-
cording to Mr. Best, is the system Of
interinsurance that obtains there This
is a mutual insurance association or
ganized by local merchants to insure
themselves. One local agent for a doz-
en- or so Baltimore dry goods and no.
lions houses learned yesterday that his
of at least 81, 600 600. The annual prem
iurns are about $3.50. 600, so three years
income was wiped out in a day
These interinsurance concerns, Of
course take just so much business away
from the regular insurance companies,
and these losses will not DO determined
for a considerable time. These interim
surance companies are usually very con-
servative, insuring only their own mem
bers and not writing more than one risk
in a single block, but when scores of
city blocks are devastated these mutual
concerns are practically wiped out.
While the losses sustained by a dozen
of the largest insurance companies will
be severe and make great holes in their
reserve funds and possibly in their cap
ital, the largest concerns are amply able
to meet the drain. The Aetna of Hart
ford for example, boasts a surplus to
policy holders of SIC, 000. 900; the Hart
ford of Hartford, SIS, 1877, 1856; the Pennsy1-
vania Fire of Philadelphia, 5000 600:
the Williamsburg, city of Brooklyn,
81 500 600; the Continental, a surplus of
! 81, 600, 600, besides its $1,000, 900 capital,
and other resources reaching $14, 600 900;
/ the German-American, a surplus and
capital of So, $50, $50; the Home Insurance
company of New York. has net sur
/ Ill, : nd mil ez7 of
600, 600; the Liverpool, London and Globe
has in American banks a surplus of
81. 612. POP, besides deposit capital, as
I required under our insurance laws, of
/ $500, 900: the North British and Mercan-
/ tile Insurance company has a surplus to
| the credit of its American branch of
81, 072, 243. in addition to its deposit of
/ $500. 900.
Each of these companies did a large
business in Baltimore, and they are the
chief sufferers among the one hundred
and twenty-five insurance companies
doing business in Maryland. The purely
/ local companies that did business in
! Baltimore had only small reserves, and
those that had reinsured risks written
| by the larger outside companies are sure
to be in a bad way. The largest Ameri-
can insurance companies too, will I'M
! dOubtedly have to Hquidate some of the
! throwing of their bonds and other secur-
I tiles on the market in the next sixty
days, during which proofs of losses will
be filed with them by the fire sufferers,
/ is likely to have its effect upon Wall
street, it was said there yesterday
The Baltimore and Maryland insur-
/ anee companies that are hard hit are
/ the Baltimore Fire Insurance com
pany. with 100000 capital and net sur
| plus of $500. 900: the Cserman-Ameriean
Fire Insurance company of Baltimore,
paid in capital 100000 and net surplus
4 $216 900: the German Fire Insurance
] cc Of Ia n panifat
! 100000 net surplus $S76,0S3; the Home
/ Insurance company, of Baltimore. paid
up capital 100000 net surplus $40, 900.
and one or two less known
The foreign companies that will suf-
/ fer most are the Atlas, of London:
/ British American, of Toronto: Caledo-
MAN, of Scotland; the Commercial
Union; Liverpool, London and Globe:
4 cashire, the North British and Mer-
: camille, the Northern, of England: the
Norwich Union, the Palatine, of Lon
don; the Royal and. the Royal Ex-
ronto. and the Turingia, of Germany
The American companies that sus-
tain the heaviest losses are the Aetna.
the Agricultural, Citizens, of st. Louis;
Fund, of San Francisco: German
American. of New York: Home, of this
city; Hanover, National. of Hartford;
New Hampshire New York Under
"
MIA, of Philadelphia; Westchester,
Springfield, Rochester. German, ALI
! ance and Providence, of Washington.
Coming so soon after the disastrous
fires at Paterson, Waterbury, Conn,
and Jacksonville. Fla. local insurance
men said yesterday that it was safe to
say that all the profits uD to date had
been needed to offset those losses so
that the Baltimore calamity comes
/ with unwonted force upon these con-
| Germs
Henry H Hall, president of the Ma
tional Board of Underwriters. said: 1T
is certain that these great losses viii
still further concentrate the fire insur-
ance business in a smaller number OF
stanch companies. 1t is about time for
those who have been complaining
about rates to take a back seat Pru-
dent insurance companies prepare for
just such an emergency as this by
/ charging reasonable rates"
E f. Beddau, president of the
Queens company, said: In the entire