The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-02-05
CREATE BOARD
To CON 7 ROL
INSURANCE
WOULD BE COMPOSED OF TWO
STATE COMMISSIONER AND
FIRE MARSHAL. BILL HAS GOOD
POINTS.


Oklahoma City, Feb. 4.-State regu
| lation and control of insurance rate
and all other matters relating to tn
insurance business, which affect tn
public welfare, by state insurance
board, to be composed Of the stat
insurance commissioner, bank commits
siCner and the state fire marshal, Il
proposed in bill passed by the hous,
of representative in committee of tn,
whole Thursday afternoon.
The bill is by Representative n b
MaXey of Muskogee and is said to be
in line with recommendations of Gov
ernor X. l.. Williams for the enactment
of such laws as would give the state
more effective control over insurance
rates charged by companies operat
ing in Oklahoma
In a great measure the bill strips
the state insurance commissioner of a
great deal of authority he now exer-
cises in the matter of regulation of in
surance companies Practically all of
the authority now exercised by the in
surance commissioner would be dele
gated to the state insurance board, of
which the insurance commissioner is
made eX-offcio chairman. 1t places
the control of insurance companies
and the insurance business in the
hands of three men instead of one
No Appeal Authorized
At present there is no law providing
for an appeal from fire insurance
rates, which are established by rating
bureaus, maintained by insurance com
panies, and this fact has resulted in
much dissatisfaction in many com
munities over rates charged for insur-
ance. The rates established by in
surance companies have been final. AS
a result of the lack of control, it has
been alleged that much discrimination
has been practiced by insurance COM
panies by charging a higher rate in
one community than in another, al
though it was said the risk was no
greater.
Section l of the bill provides:
There is hereby created state in
surance board, to be composed of the
state insurance commissioner, state
fire marshal and the state bank com
missioner, the said insurance COM
missioner to be president of said board.
The state insurance board shall have
supervision and regulation
over fire insurance rates, and rates of
insurance for legal liability of employ
ers and rating bureaus and the grant
ing and revoking of insurance agents
licenses as is provided by this act"
Another section of the bill provides
hat if after investigation the board |
should determine that any rate charg- |
I'd by company is excessive or un.
reasonably high, or that the rate is in.
adequate to the safety and soundness
If the company, it would have the
authority to direct the company to file
higher or lower rate, according to the
lirpptipu of tho boorJ
Schedule Required.
Every insurance company would be
equired to file with the state board
schedule of its rates and this sched-
lie would be open to public inspec-
ion. No company would be permitted
D do business within the state until
fter it had complied with this provi-
ion.
The bill also prohibits the grant
lg of license to insurance agents who
re not qualified to act as such, and
MS, it is said, will be of great benefit
, the insuring public in that it will
r unqualified agents The authority
f passing on applications of agents
,r license is vested in the board.
here has been more or less trouble
uring the past few months on the
cense question, and the supreme
Durt, in a test case, recently held ,
nat the state insurance commissioner
assessed no discretionary power in
ranting or reyoking an agents IL
anses. ,
1t is strongly asserted by those IA I
Iiliar with the insurance business in ,
klahoma that the enactment of this |
w will go a long way toward cor l
scting many existing evils in the in $
france situation. {