The San Francisco call., 1906-06-20
TWENTY CLAIMS
ARE REFERRED
Adjusters Pave Way for
Companies Action
on Losses.

Twenty claims of large business
houses in San Francisco were passed
upon by the adjusters at the ferry
building at meeting held yesterday
and the attorney and the secretary of
the fire underwriters were Instructed
to forward the reports to the COM
panies carrying the risks, TO be con-
sidered finally under the new arrange
ment by which each company acts for
itself in dealing with it's policy hold
ers.
The larger risks put in a way for
settlement were on policies held by
Friedman & Co.. McNab & Smith, the
and the Commercial Publishing Com
pany. At the end of one week any
company can act Independently and
make it's own settlements, regardless
of terms of other companies, under the
new rule.
The adjusters at the ferry building
yesterday also assigned between sixty
and seventy claims to loss committees
of the board of fire underwriters for
adjusting bureau may soon be rent in
twain through the disagreement of the
dollar for dollar and the ''six-bit
companies" business went on yester-
day with an outward appearance of
permanency.
In any event, whether the present
arrangements continue. under which
all classes of underwriters are repre-
sented in the same board, some sort
of adjusting bureau must exist. There
may be two bureaus instead of one,
but where there are risks in which as
many as forty companies may be rep
resented in one case the task OF ad-
justment by companies in their fndi-
vidual capacity would be endless No
two companies would agree on any set
OF facts and there could be no ad-
justment unless all were satisfied.
This is the statement made by one of
the leading insurance men yesterday.
A theory has been advanced in some
quarters that the delay in adjusting
the joint risks where more than six
companies are represented in the losses
of one individual or one concern has
been intentional and the result Of a
carefully devised plan. The losers by
the San Francisco fire are divided into
two classes: those who have mans and
influence and ability to defend their
rights and those who have none of
these qualifications for making a fight
against unjust insurance companies.
The smaller losers, naturally, as n
rule, have losses in only one company
in one locality. They are more easily
dealt with by unscrupulous adjusters
sent from the Ease 10 bulldoze and
browbeat them than are the large and
influential losers. Under this state of
facts it has been possible to squeeze
the smaller losers severely and cuts of
as much as 60 per cent from the face
of claimed losses have been made in
settlements. The smaller losses have
been in course of settling for some
time. There being only so much money
to pay the losers in the hands of any
company, unless an assessment is laid
on the stockholders, what is saved by
squeezing the poorer parties is left
to meet the wealtflier.
With the lower risks disposed of the
companies have a reasonably clear
view of what funds they have and
know better what to do from their
point of view. This is one explanation
of the tactics that have been pursued.
1t has at least an air of plausibility
in view of what has happened to date.