The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1914-01-02
STRONG PROTEST IS
ENTERED AGAINST
over INSURANCE.
COMMISSIONER TAYLOR CALLS
DIRECT ATTENTION TO EVILS
ACCRUiNG.
BASIS OF The MORAL HAZARD
Past Experiences Taken Into Constd-
Grafton in the Fixing Of Rates and
Agents Throughout State Ought to
Be Interested In the Proposition.

NASHVILLE, Dec. 29.-In state
ment just issued Insurance Commits
sioner Taylor calls special attention
to the evils of over insurance. The
statement follows:
There is simply no legitimate use
for incendiarism, and believe it can
be utterly obloiterated If the fire in
surance companies and their agents
will do their duty. Since have been .
in charge of this department of the
state l have given special attention |
to the prosecution Of incendiaries,
and have actually succeeded in the
conviction of sixteen up to date. This
has tendency, of course, to diminish
and discourage this great evil; still
with the fire marshal department
working overtime we could not hope
to totally wipe it out. But after a
careful study and analysis of the sit
uation, / am conviced that the abso-
lutte power to do it lies with the fire
insurance companies operating in the
state and their representatives.
'Tt is conceded that the chief ele-
/, ment of risk IA the fire insurance bus
mess is what is usually denominated
the moral hazard If we could who'll
ly eliminate this element, that the
cost of fire Insurance would be re-
:, duced to a mere minimum Is also an
: admitted proposition. Now, how may
this recognized incubus to the fire
insurance business be eliminated?
:, Marol hazard is the direct, logical and
:, inevtitble result of overinsurance, SO
= that the fire insurance companies,
: themselves, and their agents are re
sponsible for this baneful condition
In my judgment-and 1t is based or
careful study and thorough inves
tigation Of the real conditions-nine
= ty per cent Of the incendiary fires u
" Tennessee are directly attributable
p to the evil Of over-insurance.
- "Overinsurance is prolific Of crime
~ It puts a premiums on arson. It Of
= fers a direct reward to the habituall
crooked and is temptation to tn
~ morally weak. 4 "s
- For a crooked person to sell hi
property to an insurance company,
-. by so doing he can get more for
~ than it is actually worth, is simpl
-. an ordinary matter and to be expec
ed: and under certain conditions
weak individual might succumb to tn
same temptation. During my brit
experience as insurance commission
er of Tennessee my attention hs
IL been repeatedly called to cases whel
the insurance exceeded in amount tt
Nc value of the improvements and Il
realty combined. Such instances al
being brought to the attention OF tt
fire marhsal bureau almost daily
~ an evidence of incendiarism.
~ sThisc appalling condition was fc
-, chilly brought to the attention of tt
w department only few years ago
80 a big fire in one of our larger cite
And the melancholy feature of t
situation is the honest and console
-. tious property owner pays the prit
-, II it were the insurance compani
49,, themselves suffering the consequer
es Of their wrongful systems, it wor
~ be an entirely different propositit
But in the fixing of insurance raj
the insurance companies take II
! consideration pa tsexperience, a
I. the rate is established according
80 All good patriotic agents ought to
interested in the reduction Of rate