The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-08-17
To the Public:

A Card to the Public: In recent is
sues of The Tribune, News and Herald.
Republican there appeared full page
advertisement regarding the oreaniza-
ton of the Guardian Fire Insurance
company, IN which such references were
made to the Home Fire Insurance com
pany Of Utah and to Heber j. Grant
q Co., general agents., as in our judg-
ment to lead the public to infer that
the record Of the Home Fire Insur-
ance company Of Utah had been such
as tc justify the claims of profits set
forth in the advertisement
The use Of our names iT this con.
nectlon is unwarranGal an, misleading.
We are pleased to admit that the
Home Fire Insurance Company of Utah
is substantial and successful financial
institution, but the facts are that since
its organization, twenty years
have come from appreciation in and in"
come from its Investments, and only
about 10 per cent of its entire profits
throughout that period have resulted
from its fire insurance business; fur
thermore, insurance profits are gradually
diminishing, and during the last FIVE
years (from 1908 to 1912, inclusive)
the Home company has made only an
average of 4.06 per cent Of the total
premiums received, which is only 342
per cent Of its total earnings. The
experience Of the Home is that of
other companies generally doing bust
ness In this country-rates are steadily
declining and expenses and losses
steadily increasing.
It is matter Of general information
that the Home Fire Insurance Company
of Utah, when it commenced business,
purchased z. G. M. 7. stock at 800 per
share, and it is now quoted at over
s400 per share. The principal part of
its Main street property was purchased
at $3.50 per foot; 1T is now valued at
$3.50 per foot, and some Of it's other
early investments show an equal or bet
ter increase.
Another item that may be of inter
est is that in 1908 (see Spectator, page
490( we find there were PA American
stock firs insurance companies. In 1909
there were 270. In 1910 there were 266.
In 1911 there were 256. In 1912 there
were 241. There was no conAagration
during this period, yet there was
steady decrease in the number of COM
panies in the United States.
In this connection it might be inter
esting TO note that not single dollar
has been paid by the stockholders of
the Home Fire Insurance Company of
Utah as promotion fees
tAHOlneT Hl1sledulUg statement In the
advertisement referred to is TINT re.
garding the Hartford Fire Insurance
company, which Heber ], Grant & Co.
have represented for over thirty years,
The advertisement states that 50 200. 600
was. paid in the years 1910, 1911 and
1912 in dividends on an investment of
51.l00,0 900. The truth is that this was
paid on an investment of S4,050. 900. be-
cause after the San Francisco fire the
company surplus Of over $4,000 900
was entirely wiped out and the stock
holders were called upon to raise ad-
ditional capital of $750,000 on which
they paid premium of $4,000 900. The
return, therefore, to the stockholders,
instead Of being r little over 200 per
cent in three years. as claimed in the
advertisement. was n little less than 60
per cent for that time, or less than
20 per cent per annum. Another mis-
statement is that the net surplus of the
Hartford Fire Insurance company, Jan.
uary l, 1913. amounted to $S,513 ,692. or
nearly 800 per cent OF the original in
vestmeut; the truth is il was little
over 200 per cent, an inaccuracy of
approximately 600 per cent,
The whole purpose OF the Guardian
is to give the public to
that the hre insurance
business is highly profitable; experi. |
ence proves that this is not true, as the |
Home of Utah is the only company of |