Omaha daily bee., 1915-06-05
Nebraska
INSURANCE AGENTS
MEET TO TALK SHOP
Fire Policy Writers Hold Meeting
at Columbus and Urge Uni
formity of Rates.
GRAND ISLAND GETS MEETING
lFrom a staff CorrespondentO


COLUMBUS. Neb., June 4-(Specisl)-
with $50 agents present the state Asso-
citation of Local Fire Insurance Agents
CLOSED its session today. The meeting
was the largest ever held by the assoc
citation.
The session was held under the trees
outside Orpheus hall. the address OF wei
come being given by Mayor Rothleiter,
who said that this was the day of organ
ization. when all lines OF business, banks
and farmers alike, had recognized the Inn
portance of united effort in their sew
eral lines. Representative w. II, c,
woodhurst of North Platte responded.
Great Total of Business.
state Insurance Commissioner Il q. 4
/ Brian spoke on Insurance Regulation"
/ Mr.. Brian said very few people except |
/ those connected with the insurance BUSH |
ness appeared to comprehend the great |
Importance of the insurance business. In |
1914 there was Hs,9S 10000 of fire in !
surance written in the United states |
outside of the mutual companies. which |
1 had written in the neighborhood of $685. |
/ 600, OOO, 900 more, making a grand total of
nearly So, 600 900 fire insurance for last
year.
Premiums and Losses.
| There was paid in net premiums $685.
10000 on the insurance written for that
period, while 500 10000 was paid In
losses. 1t cost in 1914, according to the
commissioner $l.09 for each 500 written,
while five years ago it had cost s112 per
800 Losses were 60 per cent Of prem
iums collected. He said the records
showed that there had been a greater
loss ana q decreasing premium. He de-
sired a law passed to control companies
unauthorized to do business in the state,
and said there were insurance agents in
Kansas City with no office but a box
in the postoffice collecting thousands of
dollars in Nebraska and there was no
protection to tho insured.
support for Fire warden.
He advocated a more loyal support of
the state fire warden's office by the in
surance companies, for with sufficient
funds to work with and carry on inspec-
tons the fire losses would be materially
decreased.
Arthur Mullen OF Omaha compared the
work done by the state guarantee bank
ing law with the present condition in in
surance matters. He said IL the state
could regulate the banking business IL
could regulate the insurance business just
the passage of an insurance bill similar
to s. f. ii. defeated by the last legls-
lature would make rates higher. He
called attention to the passage of the
ani-pass law several years ago which
had been beneficial to everybody con-
cerned and had raised rates only on the
one-third of the passengers who had
been riding on passes. He said the
present system was a cut-throat system
of conducting insurance
Inequality of Rates.
e. C. Folsom OF Lincoln quoted from
insurance reports showing the inequality
4 OF rates as charged in the different towns
of the state. He showed that I'm many
: towns the percentage of insurance writ
! ten of a rebate nature was variable. In
one town per cent OF the policyholders
received rebate while in another town
Sc per cent were rebated. He said that
much had been said about the anti
discrimination law of Kansas, Law
similar 20 the one which was before the
Nebraska legislature last winter and
charged to have been introduced to rais'
rates. He said that the Kansas loss wal
much higher than in Nebraska and tina
the charges made were untrue.
Labor Commissioner r. NJ. Coffey CAV,
a short talk on the workings OF the work
mems compensation law.
After the noon luncheon addresses wer,
delivered by L. H. Stubs of Chicago
F. T. B. Martin of Omaha, Lee Hamlii
OF Omaha and John C. Byrnes OF Colum
bus.
~ Byrnes for New Law.
Mr.. Byrnes gave a short talk on tn
efforts to get g. f. 46. the anti-discrimi
nation insurance bill through the legis
lature and believed that efforts shoul
be made to give the people the facts 1
regard to insurance during the comm
few months and let them know Just wha
a uniform insurance bill would do for tn
policyholders of the state.
Officers elected were:
President. c. T.. Flower, Grand Island
vice presidents, Fred Walt and Natha
Roberts. Lincoln, and Gus Becher, Colum
bus; secretary-treasurer, f. I. b. Martin
Omaha; chairman of executive commit
tee, w l.. White. York: chsirma
grievance committee, Paul Colson, Fro
mont: chairman legislative committee,
g. Byrnes, Columbus; chairman member
ship committee, John Madden. Omaha
Grand Island was selected for the 80
meeting.
Resolutions were passed endorsing III
work of Insurance Commissioner L. {
Brian in the jurisdiction of the insuran'
department.