The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-08-11
Insurance Complications.


The Insurance situation has been one
of extraordinary complication, and il
has only been very lately that the large
English companies-with one or two ex-
ceptions-have declared their attitude.
The insurance companies all feel that
they are only technically liable, that
the earthquake was the direct or the
indirect cause of the confiagration, the
direct cause of the breaking of the
water mains, and the killing of the most
celebrated and efficient fire chief in the
country; that the intention of the as
sured and companies was to cover
against fire from usual causes, which
can be tabulated and upon which statis-
tics can be made, and the results used
as basis for the figuring of premiums;
that the people had not paid nor the
companies received premiums for reim-
bursement of losses sustained by such
an occurrence as the late catastrophe.
Companies" said he, which have
been meeting their losses with prompt
ness and SquareneSS for perhaps half d
century, are now ranked among the
Six BitterS " and held up to condemna-
ton by the press, which throws its
columns open alike to the honest man
or the rascal.
"On July Z6 the Commercial Union,
Alliance Palatine, Norwich Union and
Idemnity issued. through their attor-
neys, Van Ness & Denman. an an
nouncement stating that they did not
consider themselves liable unless in
very exceptional cases for loss by Or
through, or of which the earthquake
was directly or indirectly the cause,
and stating that as their policies dis
tinctly stipulated that the contract did
not cover in such occurrences, that their
stockholders would hold their officers
personally liable if they were to ac-
knowledge liability. That they were
ready, however, to consider all cases
which did not come under policy excep-
tons The amount of insurance di-
rectly involved was not to exceed
SIS, 100000 but indirectly it stiffened the
backs of other companies whose earth
quake clause was not SO broad and
sweeping. Probably one-third of the in
surance involved in the disaster will
have to be tried out in the courts, and
this will take some time.
Newspapers Generally Hostile.
THE press has generally taken an an
tagoniStic attitude to the insurance
companies The situation is one which
invites fraudulent claims from the ur-
scrupulOus. The rascal who has been
cut down on an attempted steal, the
man wLo mas been offered a compromise
on account of the fact that indications
point to a bal earthquake damage be-
fore the fire, and the claimant VINO mas
been refused any recognition at all by
some. thieving German company, which
was abe to withdraw from the country
and having no deposit or property at
stake on this side of the water must
be sued at great expense and trouble in
foreign courts. have all had access to
the papers, 1t is hard to analyze the
situation and accurately. list the COM
panies which are doing all of their duty
or part of it, or which are trying to
escape just as we'll an unjust response
bility. Within a few hours you can
hear the same companies denounced as
a 'Welcher,' called L 'SiX-Bitter' and
praised as a 'DOlldr-fo Dollar concern.
Generally speaking, however, the
companies. and especially the American
ones, are doing as well as could be eX-
pected and are progressing as fast as
possible with the enormous amount
of work involved. About ten days ago
it was estimated by excellent authority
that a conservative estimate of the
average daily amount being paid was
81, 600 COO Considering the magnitude of
the disaster, very few companies have
failed. 1t is not anticipated that over
10 per cent of the one hundred and
twenty-five companies involved will be
obliged to suspend. The fact Is that
some of them are deferring the build
ing up of impaired assets until after
the San Francisco losses have been set
tied. In future foreign company hav-
ing very small amount at stake in
this country will find it hard to DO bust
ness over here. Another result will
probably be the adoption of an abso-
lutely standard form of policy. Any
exceptions of special conditions to be
made a part of the contract by en-
dOrsement attached.
Activity in the City.
San Francisco will be the busiest
city in the country for the next ten
years. One would think that Oakland
would greatly profit by her neighbor' S
calamity, but she seems to jog along
in her quiet, old-fashioned way, and
while there has been more or less of a
building boom in Oakland, and very
strong one out in Berkeley. yet Oak
lands conditions will not be greatly
changed, and in short time San Fran
ciscans will be back across the bay
wearing automobile goggles to keep out