Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-04-19
FIRE UNDERWRITERS
ARE bEW|LDERED
They Have Scarcely Any Idea as
To Their Losses in San
Francisco.
DISCUSS TECHNlCALITIES.
Al Present Appears to be no Dispo-
sltion TO Take Advantage of
DISCUSS TEcHNIcALIT|Es.

New York, April 19.--Never were the
Nav York underwriters 80 bewildered
as 70 their probable loss In cetas-
,ronhe as yesterday, when they tried
% estimate the magnitude OF their LA
nVt,es from the earthquake. Several
conservative underwriters agreed that
,he nroperty value OF the collapsed and
burned AREAS viii probably aggregate
slO0,OO0OO0.
comparison with the Baltimore fire
NJ Feb. T. 1904, was instantly drawn
IN assurances circles. In that confla.
grafton s7OOOo,o0O worth of property
was destroyed, and the loss which
eventually fell upon the insurance COM
NAMES was approximately $3S,000,0O0.
Between that disaster and yesterdays
there was the one great difference in
~ fact that the fire underwriters ART
sot liable for losses caused by the
earthquake itself. But as for the dam
age to buildings which collapsed part
lv and then took fire, underwriters were
uncertain during the day. As to the
,looks of buildings which escaped the
earthqake and then were burned the
estimates we're clearer.
california Is not what Is called among
Insurance men a standard policy"
state and for many years most fire
insurance policies issued upon property
there contained specific clause eA.
smpting from liability from wreckage
through earthquakes. Within few
wears most of the companies writing
The bulk Of San Francisco insurance
have used the New York standard poll
cy. which contains only one clause In
any way bearing upon liability for
earthquake damage. That clause Is as
follows
III building or any part thereof fall.
except as the result OF fire, all insur-
ance by this policy on such building or
IFS contents shall Immediately cease"
Some companies have retained an old
fashioned policy which exempts from
damage "occasioned ~ earthquake"
officials of these companies were busy
today examining the question as to
how far this clause would exempt
them from loss by resultant fires.
The general disposition. however. was
,echnicalities. but wherever there could
be the slightest question the benefit OF
the doubt would be given to the policy
holder
AMOUNT RISKED.
Chicago. April 1S.--F'ire insurance
companies hal about 3250.000. 900 at
risk in the city of San Francisco, the
estimate being based on the premiums
received In 1905 For years the Pa
chc coast has leen the one section of
the country which could be depended
upon for steady profit year In and
year out San Francisco has been the
best profit producer Of the coast It's
loss ratio for period Of years has
been the lowest. being less than 20
per cent, of any city In the country,
despite the unusual proportion Of
frame construction As result Of
this usually favorable experience rates
were low in that city and all the fire
Insurance companies wrote very lib
orally on the other hand the pro-
portion of insurance to value was
small, partly because Of the overconf-
dence over the long immunity from
heavy losses and also because there Is
reinsurance clauses In use there, as Is
the rule in other large cities, requir-
ing the owner to carry a certain pro-
portion of insurance to value.
The total San Francisco premiums
IN 1905 were s2,9S5,546. of which
N,645,750 was written IN American
companies and $1.340.SS0 In foreign
companies The latter proportion Is
much greater than that held by foreign
companies in the country at large. as
they have always specially developed
The Pacific coast business. Several
foreign companies that are never
heard Of In the east are large writer's
on the Pacific coast. The Rhine &
Moselle, for instance, which operates
nowhere In the United States except
on the Pacific coast had nearly
100000 at risk in San Francisco,
Standing eighth I'm the list In order Of
amount There were 105 fire COM
panies doing business In California last
year The Fireman's fund. which is
me leading fire Insurance company
OF San Francisco, stands third, It's pre-
mum Income In the city last year be-
ing S17,60s, while the Home Fire &
Marine, owned by II. had s31,103.
Local insurance men estimated tonight
mat the two companies had over
.s'oVV, 600 nj risk. The Hartford had
's'2S6 In premiums and the New