The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1916-05-26

back in losses and So per cent being
absorbed by the companies for ex-
penses and profits.
How Owosso is Affected.
ITO often we are lost in the
realm of big figures, and so
tonight l shall try to localize, and
bring the subject down to closer ap-
plication. In the city Of Owosso,
you had at the time of the last CEN
sus, 5000 people. In this city you
are paying to the stock Fire Insur-
ance Companies, not less than $780,
900 every year for insurance.
Based upon the experience of the
state, Twenty-nine Thousand dol
lars Of this was paid back to you in
losses and Thirty-one Thousand dol
lars absorbed by the companies for
expenses and profits.
Not alone was this true for last
year. but this average has held good
for the last thirty years in Michigan.
When l say to you that two
thirds of the Premiums you pay to
the Stock Fire Insurance Companies
could be saved to you, without loss
of security, must be plain spoken
in telling you the grounds Of my be-
lief.
Local Agents.
~ have no complaint to make
against the local agent, who only
takes the commission the company
offers. Under present rates, ! wish
he were receiving fifty per cent of
the premium, instead of twenty-one
and a half per cent, the average
paid in the state.
Instead of paying $4,000 in
commissions for Just writing up
your policies, every policy could be
written in Owosso for fifteen hun
dred dollars. Every rate is fixed
and certain. Not an inspection is
required Not the slightest discre-
ton can he exercised by the agent.
Local Proof.
You have in this county one of
the ninety and nine Mutual Fire In
suTance Companies Of the state writ
ing farm property.
This is a class of insurance that
the stock companies and the bureau
Gus, and which some companies re-
fuse. The Board rate upon the
farmers property is IS cents for one
three years.
This high rate is because it has
no fire protection, and because
lightning causes fully one-half OF all
losses in farm mntuals.
Il have examined the report OF
the Shiawassee Mutual Fire Insur-
ance Company for the year 1915. II
covered seven millions of dollars of
for v,sclc in or rnSt
so far below the cost of your risks
in this cuty, with all your fire pro-
lection, that the difference should
stagger you. That insurance was
given to the farmers Of your county
hundred dollars.
"One-fourth the cost that would
have been demanded by the stock
companies.
: "The entire expense Of conducting
the company OF inspecting risks, OF
writing policies and every other
charge, was but $500; while just
for your city of Owosso. you paid to
the stock companies $4,000 for
their expenses and profits, besides
paying for all the losses.
I'm my county OF Branch the Nut
ual company paid all osses and ex-
, penses for less than twenty cents
per hundred, and has had an aver
age of twenty-five cents for period
Of twenty years.
THE 90 Mutual companies of the
state, insuring more than 100000
farmers, had an average rate las,
year of less than Is cents per hun.
dred covering entire cost upon a
half million dollars of insurance.
'If you merchants and business
men still doubt the Injustice being
done to you, let me ask you to cal
upon your hardware dealers, your
druggists, your lumber yards anC
your dry goods merchants, who are
carrying their insurance in outside
mutuals, and get from them the
rates they are paying, and then com
pare them with the rates upon the
same properties demanded by the
| Trust Bureau. You will find thai
nearly all hardware stores of the
state are now in the hardware NUT
uals. You will also find that nearly
every lumber yard in Michigan has
been changed from the trust to com
panies outside that will not submit
to the slavery of the Bureau tha'
shackles more than two-thirds Of the
property Of the state.
But the significant information
you will obtain, will be the fact
that they are getting their insurance
! at half the cost imposed upon then
by the trust companies, through
their bureau o. rates
~ am president of our New Ma
sonic Temple Association, over home
We have just built a new temple
1t is the second best risk in tn,
city so far as fire immunity is con
cerned.
1.-The Bureau sent its inspecto
over and placed rate of not les
than $3.50 per hundred for fv
years on the building. Two week
ago, l wrote to some good stool
companies doing business and ad
! mitted to the Eastern states, givini
them a description of the risk, an,
they at once offered to write il 70
not exceeding a COLLAR and twelv
cents per hundred for five years.
: What we want, is either lay
that will permit such companies t
come In and serve the people Of tn
state, or such laws as we have al
, ready enacted to- care for the Work
mems compensation act.
"Today should the company