The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-12-24
NO SUPERVISION
over McLAURlN
INSURANCE DEPARTMENT RE.
plies to Inquiries.
Probable Reasons of Warehouse Com
missioner For Keeping Silent
PLIES TO INQUIRIES.

to insurance placed on State ware
houses, Commissioner McMaster wrote
the following letter, which explains
the attitude of the insurance depart
ment and the situation generally:
Being insurance commissioner, it is
quite natural that persons in the state
should write to me on insurance mat
tiers and probably the more so i'll
connection with state insurance mat
ters. But my duties and powers as in
surance commissioner are most clearly
defined in the laws. They limit me to
supervision of insurance companies
licensed in the state, of agents of in
surance companies licensed in the
state, but they give me no authority
to inquire into the business of indl-
vidual citizens of the state and par
ticularly have | no power to inquire
into the affairs of other state officers.
A citizen of the state has right un-
der the constitution Of the United
States to place his insurance wherever
he chooses. The only power that the
state has is to prevent agents of un-
licensed companies coming into the
state TO adjust losses or otherwise act
for unlicensed companies. Should this
happen it would be my duty to have
such agents arrested and prosecuted.
l share this duty, however, in common
with all citizens of this state who
would have the same right.
Authority is Limited.
81 have gone somewhat into detail
in order that you may clearly under
stand that l have absolutely no au-
tLority to inquire into how Commits
sioner McLaurin is placing his insur-
ance or where he is placing it.
LAS a matter of fact, Mr.. McLaurin
of his own motion has assured me
more than once that all of his insur
ance is placed in licensed companies
in the state. am fully persuaded by
what he tells ne and by what Mr.
White has tcld me tLat the insurance
is perfectly safe
"Of course It is entirely in Mr.. Nc
Lallin's power to make public or to
keep silent What he IS doing and how
ne is doing it. He seems to think it
wise to remain silent. To some extent
| can appreciate the necessity for this
and as possibly bearing Oh the sit
aation l would say that the local
agency force of the state, speaking
by and large, is bound hand and foot
by the rates, rules and classifications
of the Southeastern Underwriters as
sociation. However much the local
agent might wish to see rates reduced
ne is utterly unable to secure this OF .
his own motion. So far as he is con-
cerned the rate promulgated by the !
S. E. u. A. is the only rate he can
write insurance upon.
There are number of companies /
not members of the S. E. U. a. and l
some of these companies are willing I
to write certain classes of risks at :,
less rates than those promulgated by
the S. E. u. A. But l suspect that
when they do so they pay less COM 4
mission than local agents generally |
receive. l suppose this requires par
ticular dealings with particular agents.
This enables these particular agents
to write insurance on property pre-
viously controlled by other local
agents. Naturally this sets the other
local agents against these particular
agents and possibly would cause these
local agents to do what they could to
have the local agents generally
throughout the state to make repri-
sails upon the company which had
granted reduced rates.
Reasons for Secrecy.
Apparently Mr. McLaurin feels thai |
if ne makes public what he is doing
it will bring down upon the compa- "
nies in which he is placing the insur- !!
ance the wrath of the local agents gen
orally and possible it may seriously
embarrass these companies, for my
understanding is that there are screws
that may be turned in The Nortn and
elsewhere against companies which do
not obey the S. E. U A. rates. !!
"The situation is very much in
voIved, appears to me to be very deli
cate and my judgment is that the pow
er and the ramifcations Of influence Of
the companies composing the S. E. U.
A. practically require Commissioner
Mel Laurin to act as he is acting.
"Rut all this is written entirely on