Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1908-12-02
|MUTUALS MUST
KEEP IN STATE
BUT MAY INSURE GOODS SOLD ON
INsTALLMENT UNDER CERTAIN
CONDITIONS.
OPINION OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
GILBERT DETERMINES INTER
EsTlNe QUESTIONS.
Madison. Nov. %.


A question involving the right of
mutual insurance company In Wfscon-
sin to insure goods sold on consign-
ment under certain conditions; also
the right to insure goods outside the
state was passed upon by Attorney
General Gilbert in a case arising in
La Crosse County. The La Crosse
Mutual Insurance Company issued to
the Nelson Carpet Company of La
Crosse policy for $1,000 covering
household furniture of every descrip-
ton, which the insured supplies under
special contracts to various dwelling
houses in the cities of La Crosse and
Onalaska or within a radius of two
miles thereof The furniture insured
under this policy is permitted to be
distributed in these various dwellings
within two miles of the corporate
limits of said cities. One objection
urged against the policy is that the
territory over which this property may
be distributed, or in other words the
two-mile limit, extends outside of the
state line and is therefore illegal.
Another objection is that this par
ticular policy of $1,000, covering
household goods in the territory speci-
fed, may include furniture that is de-
livered to a dwelling house in which
there Is already risk of $500 as
sumed by the company, this amount
being the legal limit, and that, for
that reason, it should not be permit
ted; and, again, that some of the
property may be sold or delivered to
buildings that have a rate of three.
four or five percent, which should not
be permitted mutual company, as it
would jeopardize the interests of it's
members
Attorney General Gilbert's opinion
follows:
In answer to the first objection to
this policy, l will say that, under Sec
ton 1941-5 as amended by chapter
SO of the laws of 1903, village or
city fire insurance company may in
sure property in any county of this
state, but in no case shall any one
risk exceed fifteen hundred dollars.
The property insured must be within
the state Of Wisconsin. 1t is neces-
sary to construe the clause in said
policy within a radius Of two miles
of the corporation line thereof as be-
IN in$n To ri
tory as is within the state of Wiscon.
sin. The company has no right to in
sure property outside of the state and
the policy of the company does not
authorize the insuring Of any prop
erty outside Of the state do not be-
lieve that the court would construe
this clause as an endeavor to authorize
property to be taken outside Of the
state. believe that 1t would be pre-
sumed that the company was en-
deavoring to act within it's authority
and that nc permission to take
property outside of the state was in
tended by said clause. would sug
gest, however, that within this state
be added to said clause, so as to leave
no room for doubt
81 notice by the insurance clause
that it is understood that the furniture
insured is not to exceed in value the
sum of $3.50 in any one residence.
The statutory limit under the above
cited statute is $1,000. II the La
Crosse Mutual has no insurance in
any dwelling house within the cities
of La Crosse and Onalaska and within
radius of two miles of the corpora
ton lines of these cities of more than
$3.50 on one risk, then no objection
can be raised to the provisions of this
policy If, however, the insurance
company has already reached the
limit for any risk on any dwelling
place where some of this furniture
will be kept, it is my opinion that the
company has violated the provision of
said chapter SO of the laws of 1903"