The San Francisco call., 1906-07-09
English Adjusters En- Route
to This City to Make
an Investigation.
PoIicy-H folders in Three Big
Companies Must Await
Their Verdict.

with claims aggregating approximately
$s,S50,O 600 against the Commercial Union
Assurance Company, the Alliance AS
surance Company and the Palatine In
surance Company, all of London, and
the Commercial Union Fire Insurance
Company Of New York, which corpora
tions have not as yet paid a single cent
on their San Francisco losses, are i'm
patiently awaiting the arrival here
from England - representatives of the
Alliance, Palatine and Commercial
Union
The foreign insurance magnates are
expected TO reach this city the latter
part OF the present week, according to
c. +. Mullins, who is the Pacific Coast
manager for the four companies named
all of which have the now we'll known
earthquake clause" in their policies.
Thus far none of Mullins corpora
tions have admitted or denied liability
on their matured risks in San Fran
cisco, and while the concerns have not
recompensed TO the extent of copper
a single one of their policy holders who
sustained losses, the companies con-
tinue to write new business. They will
not accept less than a dollar for a dol
lar on premiums.
The estimated loss of the quartet of
companies is as follows: Commercial
Union of London, $3,100,0OO Alliance,
s2,S0o.ooo; Palatine. $2.7O0.00O; CONNER
cial Union OF New York, S25o,000
POLICY-HOLDERS MUST WAIT.
Owing 10 the repeated demands that
were made upon him by impatient poll
icy-holders as to what treatment his
companies would accord their San Fran
cisco claimants, Manager Mullins issued
the following notice to owners of ma
tured policies:
I am in receipt of a cable from the
home office of my companies to the ef-
feet that the directors are legally ad-
vised that if claims for which said com
panies are not liable are paid, said di-
rectors will incur liability of a serious
character; also that the general mana
ger of the Commercial Union and the
Palatine and the secretary of the Alli-
ance will arrive in this city the middle
of July.
Until the arrival of these gentlemen
the position the companies will take
with relation to claims under their San
francisco policies cannot be definitely
stated. 1t is my hope that until then
the policy-holders will continue to ex-
ercise the patience already practiced
The resources of the companies are
more than ample to meet much larger
amounts than the total insurance writ
ten by them in San Francisco, and no
claim Will be endangered in that re-
spect by awaiting the final action of the
representatives from the home Offices"
When asked as to who the insurance
men from London were and what au-
thority they were coming here with
Manager Mullins said:
WILL MAKE INVESTIGATION.
Il know who the gentlemen are, but
/ viii not at this time give out their
names If I did nearly all the news
paper men in the country would be
al Tar
hotels. 1 can say, however, that they
are due here in a week or ten days and
that they are coming with open and
unprejudiced minds to investigate the
insurance situation for themselves.
AS to the authority they possess and
what they may decide to do is some
thing do not know myself at present
Whether the gentlemen from Lon
don viii recommend that San Fran
cisco losses of the companies be paid,
despite the Incorporation of the earth
quake clause in the companies poll
cies is another question. l am not pre-
pared to answer. 1t seems to me that
the earthquake clause about which
there has been so much talk, is a clear
stipulation in the policy contract
There should be but little question
in the minds of fair thinkers that
the destruction in San Francisco was
directly due TO an earthquake. 1t may
be true the fire caused the greatest
loss, but there were no fires before the
earthquake
Shortly after the quake my son-in-
law counted no less than fourteen sep
arate fires in as many different sec
tions of the city. These fires were
not in existence before the shake My
companies insured against fire and not
they be expected TO pay for destruction
primarily wrought by an element
against which they never insured?"
CANNOT PAY IT'S LOSSES.
Reports continue to be made by pol-
icy holders in the German Insurance
company of Freeport, Ill, about the
scaling and compromising methods the
managers and adjusters of that cor
poration are pursuing in settling. Some
time ago one of the officials of the
Freeport, when pressed for an answer
as 10 what his company was able to
do toward settling with its claimants,
replied:
Well IL the majority of them are
willing TO accept fifty cents on the dol
lar the Freeport may survive. If they
demand more the company will be
forced of the face of the earth"
The German of Freeport was incor-
porated in 1865 and advertises itself as
''the largest and most successful fire
insurance company in the West" Ac-
cording to a statement issued the
financial affairs of the German Free
port on January 1, 1906, stood as fol-
lows:
Assets %, 344, lbs. 90
Liabilities including reinsurance 1890, ,e93 90
Net surplus .----,...-....-...... 2,147. .4e5 90
The officers of the German Freeport
are: President, c. o. Collman; vice
president Henry Baier; secretary, F.
NJ. Gund; treasurer, D. B. Schultz
The German Freeport was a non
board company and its. estimated loss
in San Francisco is SO. .40O, 900.
One of the noticeable results grow
ing out of the division of the Insurance
companies into "six-bit" and dollar-for-
dollar classes is the eagerness exhib-
tied by agents to secure the sound
companies to represent and the haste
with which the brokers are dropping
the concerns that are welching on their
San Francisco claims.
The German American Company re-
ports the payment of $4,000 to the San
Francisco Board OF Education on in
surance carried on school department