The San Francisco call., 1906-06-30

German of Peoria Offers Fifty
Per Cent Settlement to
Policy Holders.
AgentDeclares Insurance Com
pany Is in State of
insolvency.
Liabilities of Corporation Are
Three Times Its Avail
able Assets.


surnnce Company of Peoria, ILL.,, Is now
Offering its San Francisco pOiicy-hold-
ers who sustained fire losses. ID. Dun
can of Duncan g. Rehfisch, agents for
the corporation, is advising all claim
ants who wait upon him to accept the
aIf-dollar settlement. He says that
in his opinion the company Is not now
and probably never will be I'm a posi-
ton to pay a larger percentage. Fur
thermore, Duncan says the time will
ecOme when the German of Peoria will
not be able 10 pay even so cents ON Its
San Francisco liabilities and that the
company IL even now threatened with
being thrown into insolvency.
Secretary Charles Cremer of the Ger
man of Peoria, who left here some days
ago after withdrawing the company's
adjusters from the San Francisco field,
has intructed Duncan & Rehfisch to
inform all policy-holders whose losses
were total that If they are satisfied to
accept so cents on the dollar their
claims will be sent on to the home
Office and payment made by draft. Dun
can stated today that policy-hold-
ers whose claims aggregate nearly
$500 had agreed to settle with the
company on the so per cent basis. The
liabilities of the German of Peoria In
San Francisco, according to Duncan.
can be scaled down to s1.000,000. The
surplus and capital stock of the in
surance corporation are given at $780,
600. and this amount the directors and
stockholders intend to increase to
$500, 900 by subscribing $4,000 from
their private funds.
SORRY FOR SHOWING.
In speaking of the affairs and finan-
cial status of the German Peoria
Duncan said:
Yes, 1 am a general agent for the
German Peoria and sorry for it, How
ever. l am trying to make the best of
a bad financial failure and assist those
who have suffered q double loss be-
cause they were policy holders in the
German Peoria. l mean TO sever my
connection with the company just as
quickly possible, and / mean to ex-
ert myself to have every San Francisco
claimant of the company get as much
as he can under the circumstances.
.sThe San Francisco disaster has sim
ply put the German Peoria into the
state of insolvency, and l do mot see
how the company can continue In busi-
ness, although some of the officers of
the corporation affect to believe that
they can compromise their San Fran
cisco losses, weather the storm and re-
sumo business elsewhere. How any
concern can pay mflliOD-doilar debt
with half n million dollars and
is a situation that passes my cOmpre-
hcnsiOn.
Because of my knowledge of the
financial condition of the German of
Peoria l have advised claimants to ac-
cept the so cent offer. / honestly think
that this offer is the best the company
will be able to do. 1 have in all of my
dealings with the policy holders of the
German of Peoria during the last two
months explained to them the exact
status of the company as i knew 1t and
advised them in a way that l believed
was to their best interests. This pas
time of being a buffer between a suf-
fering arm of honest policy-holders
and a sinking insurance comapny is
not one that / would select as a recre-
alton, but through 1t all I have acted
honorably.'
STATEMENT OF COMPANY.
Duncan & Rehfisch became the gem
eral agents of the German of Peoria
one year ago. Prior to that time the
agents of the corporation were Cutie
& Frank. Bernard Cremer of Peoria
/ is president of the company and his
brother Charles is secretary. The Gre
mers are also engaged in the newspa-
per business in Peoria. H. E. Sieberps
is vice president of the German of Pc
oria and Michael Pfeifer is treasurer.
According to the thirtieth annual state
ment issued by the company the assets
and liabilities of the company on Janu-
ary of this year were as follows:
ASSETS
Mortgage and collateral loans.s s274,o25.s0
] y. nm