New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-11-23
STANDARD POL|CY'S STORY
Elijah R. Kennedy Relates 1t TO
Insurance Society.
ABUSES PRECEDED ADOPTION
In It's 25 Years, Speaker Says,
Courts Have Almost Uniformly
Sustained Conditions.

Speaking at the montnlN meeting OF '"S
Insurance Society Of New York at the FIRE
| Underwriters Building yesterday, Elijah L.
/ Kennedy told of the adoption of the stand
ard fire insurance policy in this state TWEEN
/ ty-five years ago. Mr. Kennedy was chair
| man Of the committee of the Board Of Fire
Underwriters that prepared the policy IN
/ 1856. He has been asked many times to
write the history Of the standard policy as
/ fire insurance men have feared that the
Gats, so interesting 20 them, might be lost
and Yesterday afternoon he was persuaded
to tell the story in an address TO be in
corporated in the records Of the Insurance
Society
Mr. Kennedy said in his address that he
considered the adoption of the standard
policy the most important innovation in the
! History Of fire insurance. Before the adop-
ton of the standard policy. he said. each
fire insurance company wrote its own policy
and made its own conditions. No two poll
cies were alike. and thus serious difficult
ties often arose In adjusting the loss on
"a risk which had been covered by several
companies. In addition TO this many Of the
policies were of great length and printed in
such fine type that they could be read only
by the aid of a magnifying glass.
So many abuses grew up in the drawing
Of fire insurance policies. said Mr. Ken
nedy. that at last the Legislature was
called upon to straghten out the tangle.
II was realized that only practical insurance
men were competent to draw up a uniform
policy, and the Legislature asked the New
York Board Of Fire Underwriters 10 APP
point committee to undertake the work.
committee of thirteen members. COM
posed of men from this city. Philadelphia,
Hartford and WATERFOWL was appointed.
William Allen Butler. eX-Judge a. II. Saw
Yer, OF Watertown. and Franklin Cham
berlin, Of Hartford. were the counsel for
the committee After six months work the
standard fire insurance policy which is now
in use in this state and has been adopted
10y many other states was produced and was
promptly enacted into law by the Legis
laturc.
Mr. Kennedy related an amusing incident
that contributed to the adoption OF the
standard policy. In 1885, he said, a wealthy
man in Batavia suffered large loss by
fire. The risk was covered by several com
panieS, and all except one promptly paid.
The company that ned up its payment in
formed the owner that they found that SIS
for damage to plate glass had been appor
toned against them, while fine print CON
clifton in their policy said tho company did
not cover plate glass above certain size,
SO they insisted on dcducting the $tj from
the payment.
The owner Of the property CHANGED to he
Mr. Walker, q member Of the Senate Com
mittec on Insurance. and at the next session
Of the Legislature the question of a uniform
fro insurance policy was pressed 10 o con-
Clusion.
One Of the changes said Mr. Kennedy,
that had been Of great importance was that
relating to the right Of the company 10
cancel p policy or change its conditions.
Formerly q company could cancel \ policy
on the instant, while it could make any
changes II chose al any time, and IL was the
usual thing for q company. after encounter
ing an unfavorable verdict in suit, TO
change its policies 70 comply with the new
conditions brought about hv the verdict
Now company must give the property
owner five DAYS notice before canceling =
policy. and no change can be made in the
conditions Of the policy except by act If
the Legislature.
Long after the standard policy had been
adopted. Mr.. Kennedy said, he had been
told by William Allen Butler that it had
almost entirely abolished litigation over
policy conditions. However. there had been
a few disputes carried into court. In re
gard 10 tho cancellation clause in the policy
the Court Of Appeals of this state had de-
cided one way and the United States courts
had decided in exactly the opposite way
tho federal courts sustaining the under
standing Of the committee and Of iusur-
ancc men generally. In all other matters
the courts had almost uniformly sustained
the conditions of tho policy as understood
by the committee and its counsel