The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-04-02

INSURANCE
IN FLORIDA
INFORMATION TOUCHING UPON
THIS SUBJECT COMPILED IN
CONCISE AND TERsE STATE
MENT.
BY n. A. Gray, Insurance Clerk.

Tallahassee, April 1.-The laws of
Florida require all insurance compa-
MES that operate in this state to be
licensed by the state treasurer and to
make reports to him of their financial
condition and their transactions in the
state once each year. The nature of
the report now required of insurance
companies such that they have to take
some time after the first of January to
get up the data for the previous year,
but the companies have all reported
and the state treasurer has issued his
report containing the most essential
Data required to be filed.
On the first of January there were
144 insurance companies authorized 70
transact business in the state. Just
one half, or 72, of these were fire in
surance companies. Taking up the fire
companies first, this class received In
premiums from policyholders in Flor
ida $2,S12.143.2O and incurred losses
amounting to 1898, 1850, or approx
mately AZ per cent. At first blush this
would appear that the fire insuranc &c
was bonanza But expense of doing
business must be considered, and the
average expense Of operation for fire
insurance Is about 35 per cent of the
gross premiums received. So taking
this as a basis and the entire list of
companies we find the net profit to be
about Is per cent average for 1911;
not a bad year, though fire losses were
reported to be heavy. Not all of the
companies made a profit. Some made
more than the Is per cent, while others
lost heavily. The business of fire in
surance Is a hazardous one and there
Is no rule to go by to foretell the prob
able losses of a company. Life insur-
ance risks are more easily computed.
Only thirty-one' life insurance COM
mi t., N
January LIST and three of these were
home concerns. The life insurance
companies reported losses incurred in
the state aggregating $780, 05.16 and
premiums received S2,SS2,124.97. Again
! the figures look like they represent big
profits, but the expense of doing bust
ness for life insurance companies is
even greater than fire insurance
usually. By the use Of the American
| mortality tables a life insurance com
| pany can compute with a great degree
| OF accuracy the number of deaths per
| thousand among their policyholders,
| yet the element of uncertainty enters
| largely into their risks for they cannot
tell whether the policyholders carry
| ing the one thousand or those carrying
the ten thousand or fifty thousand dol
| lar policies will be in the death list
for the year. Almost all of the old line
| insurance companies do business on
what is called a legal reserve basis,
lie. laying aside q certain amount each
year on each policy as a reserve fund
to meet the policy when 1t natures or
| upon death Of the holder. The older
| and larger life insurance companies
are veritable Gibraltars Of financial
strength, and are in fact, the greatest
| financial institutions Of the country.
One company that does business in
Florida reports assets of over six hun
! dred million, while two others go over
| the five hundred million mark.
The most interesting feature Of the
miscellaneous" group of insurance
companies is the variety Of insurance
risks written. some writing as high as
fourteen different classes. In these
progressive days Of underwriting you
may insure against almost any pos
| sible event. You can insure your own
| health, that OF an employee, against
loss by theft. loss of a ship, against