The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-01-08
A Bomb Insurance for Chicago
Representative of Great English Company Says Such Form
Of Protection Is Necessary During Gamblers War.

Chicago. Jan. S.--BOmb insurance
for Chicago to protect it from the loss
of property incurred during the three
years of terrorism caused by gam
bling factions. eliminating with the ,
series of thirty-five bombs, was rec !
commended before the Illinois fire in |
surance commission at it's session a. |
the Lasalle hotel yesterday. A. +. !
Shaw. representative of Lloyd's CT
London. the company that insures any !
thing from cats to the weather. sug-
gested the new form of protection. He
said that it was form of insurance
quite necc ssary here now.
Undue expense for the conduct of
fire insurance companies was pointed
, out as the chief evil of the business by
most Of the witnesses before the COM
mission. Any regulation that would
reduce these expenses would be vel
coined by the companies and by insur-
ance brokers, representatives of the
Chicago brokers. told the commission.
Too much regulation, however. would
they con,ended Loss Limitation to
| prevent the recovery of the full loss
was suggested as a necessity by II. H.
Glidden, manager OF the Chicago board
of underwriters.
| J. c. BraytOn, chairman Of the COM
mittee of insurance brokers. represent
| ing the fire insurance brokers of Chi
cago. asked the commission to realize
the Importance of the brokers in re-
gard to their relations to the insured.
He sair that the brokers protected in
a measure all of their clients from I'M
safe companies. The brokers' wide
knowledge of the business. he said.
had a tendency to protect many insur-
ers from being fleeced in accepting
policies in unsafe companies. He told
of the legislation in other states that
had recognized the importance of the
brokers and had licensed them.
! Clarence S. Pellet. vice president of
the board OF underwriters. then told
of the number of "leeches" in the in
surance business and how they increas-
ed the expenses of the companies that
ultimately. were paid by the smaller
policy holders. He said that it had
cost his company 23.3 per cent Of all
premiums received during the past
year to run their business. On this
amount. he said. large amount could
be eliminated if the undesirables could
be forced from the insurance field. In
der the present arrangement, he said.
the companies could cut rates and not
be discovered. He was in favor Of
the state licensing the brokers and re-
fusing to permit the hangers on" to
continue to bleed the brokers and COM
panies alike.
He was in favor of a uniform rate
being adopted by all companies and a
punishment for all offenders who vio-
lated it.
premium rates would be reduced
considerably he said. IF the state can
abolish the '1eeches' in the business -
Edward G. Halle OF the German
Fire Insurance company of New York
spoke of the folly Of the state trying
to control insurance companies. He
said that If the state could by any leg
islation reduce the expenses Of the
companies it would be a good thing
and he would be in favor of It. The
, companies. he said, seemed to pay no
attention to their operating expenses
and he would favor any action OF the
state.
} Reduce all commissions" he said.
ito 15 Per cent az the maximum, tn
stead Of s. per cent, Is It IL now; make