The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-20

lGARRIED on san FRANCISCO;
LOSSES LESS THAN HALF.
Companies Preparing to Pay JSNiftb agd
LibeFaily-SOnie Onleers stand an
Collapse Exemption Clauses Estimates
Based on Collection OF Premiums,

In. Oakland, across the bay from San Fran
cisco, on the daybefore- 1t had been twen-
ty-four hours coming and merely stated
the bald fact that there had been1an earth
quake.
The other mesa e: wqs recaiYed.by PreS-
dent Evans Of the Continental company
from C. r. futile. vice-president and gem
eraI manager OF the Continental. 1t WIS
dated at Chicago, 10: IS A. NJ. yesterday,
and said;
Accepting latest reports as AUTHENTIC
the fire area is beginning az valI6j0 street
end bay to Sansome, along Sansome to
Market, to Eighth, tn Folsom, TOR Second,
TO Market, to Howard, to bay Gross
liabilities, $3.50 900. Reinsurance, 1915, 600.
Net, s375,oOO, | still believe loss much
exaggerated"
Mr.. Tuttle's report was made practically
useless for purposes OF figuring out fire
lesscs by subsequent dispatches telling
Of the wider spread of the flames. The
figures in his message. applied only to the
losses of his own company within the area
described in the despatch: But, that area
ircIudes practically all of the business sec
tion OF the city, where the fire losses' are
greatest. Estimates made here yesterday
Of the insurance carried on the whole city
varied from $3.50. 600, 600 to 's29S, 900, 900.
About half of that is on the property within
the area outlined in the despatch to the
Continental,
All the large companies have large por-
tons of their risks rainsured.
The estimate Qf. s298Q0QN9 as.the amount
OF insurance carried on all property through
. out the city is based on the fact that the
los companies doing business there re-
ceived in 1908 as the income on their pre-
NUNS s2,9s6, $40.
"The rates in California, " said W. C.. Leach
OF the Norwic h Union yesterday, vary
from 5 per cent. dow n to almost nothing.
Nine years ago there was a rate war there
and the effe cts of it are just about being
done away with. San Francisco IS a wooden
city to a great extent and"the fire insurance
rates in the Chinese quarters and in the
Barbary Coast, which corresponds 10 New
Works Bowery, are very high, But a fair
estimate of the average for the whole city
would be 1 per cent. So multiply the total
premium income and you get the approx
mate liability of all the companies"
z. H. A. Correa, vice-president of the
Home Insurance Company, said that the
average rate was probably more than 1
per cent and the whole amount Of insur-
ahce carried in the city not more the
$3.50, COO, eco. He also said that he did not
think the damage to property by fire would
reach s1oO, 900, 1000.
Zone thing is sure" added Mr.. Correa.
IThe companies affected by the disaster
will adopt a uniform policy for the, pay
ment of losses. They will deal with tho
situation in the broadcast possible spirit.
There will be no quibbling over ,technicaA-
ties. While none Of the companies doing
business in California is liable for earth
quake damage we have to remember that
this Is a great calamity, and We should
not take advantage Of technioafities to save
, some thousands of dollars to ourselves
at the expanSaA of those. who. have suffered,
loss. The benefit OF every reasonable
doubt should be given to p~olicyholders
in settling the claims arising out of this
catastrophe.
NO one, can tell at this time what our
liabilities will be. Even if | told you how
much business we carried in San Francisco
: that would be no indication az to the ex-
tent of our losses.
Assuming that there was a fire in this
city which destroyed the district from
William street to Canal street. it would
De OF no importance to know how much
to The Bronx. SO in the stricken city
We must first be informed Ia what part
the damage by fire was greatest to ascer-
tain Just what our liabilities would be-
The insurance in the whole city for which
the Home company is liable Is approx
mately 3d. 500, according to MIR. Correa's
guess that the average rate is IA per cent,
or t9,sH 200 if the average rate received
for IT was ! per cent.
John y; Kelly, secretary of the West
chester Fire Insurance Company of New
York, which received $f775573 on its san
Francisco premiums last year. said: q
we have heard nothing from ouragents
and have not expected to, because all the
been destroyed. There is no State law in
California governing the form Of policies,
n any policy is legal that is satisfactory
to the Insured, But no doubt 90 per cent.
q the policies in force, there to-day are
IN les exemption clause that the company
is not lidHle for any building a part of which
falls before the structure catches fire, |
! have seen a despatch quoting Fire Com
missioner Wolf Of San Francisco as saying
that all the companies had agreed to pay
dollar for dollar on all losses, whether they
were duo. to fire or earthquake.
Commissioners Wolf probably made no
such statement. He certainly had no All .
thority to do 80. The companies cannot
pay for earthquake losses, even if they
we're inclined to do so TO help out in an
emergency"
a doubt ~ to which hit it first, fire or earth
quake, what will be the. attitude of The
oompanies in that oasea" Mr.. Kelly was
esked.
y don't believe there will be room for
'suchdoubt, except, perhaps, IN few isolated
cases. The condition Of the ruins them
selves will indicate something, and there
were many persons in the city who will be
able to give reliable testimony as to the
sequence Of calamitiee."
An official Of another company expressed
the opinion that there will be no way Of
determining the primary cause of destruc-
tion and that the companies will pay fire
losses without making a fight in the courts. |
The New York agent for the North British
and Mercantile Company received ~instruc- !
tons from his home Office yesterday to pay
all claims without waiting Tor the GUS
tomary sixty days to elapse, and to send
q additional 5000 as the company's con-
tribution to the relief fund.
Benoni Lockwood, president OF the New
York Board Of Fire Underwriters, said that
1t was not the business, Of fire insurance |
companies to pay anything but fire losses
in strict accordance with the terms Of the
policies. G
1T occasionally happens in this city,"
added MIR. Lockwood, that . building falls