The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1916-04-26
FROM TIE COMPANIES END.
HartfOrd's View OF South Carolina In
surance Situation.

HartfOrd's View Of South Carolina In
surance Situation.
Without exception every large fire
insurance company in Hartford, in
Guiding the Factory Insurance Asso-
citation, has ceased operations in the
State Of South Carolina, owing to the
severity Of the anti-compact bill re-
Gently made a law in that state. AS
many of the other companies outside
of this city have also ceased doing
business in the state, the mill mu-
tuals are the only people writing
there at the present time. During a
recent session of the legislature Of
South Carolina Senate Bill No. G35,
known as the Lancy- Odom anti-com-
pact bill, was enacted and became
law through the signature Of the
Governor. 1t is an Act to prevent
fire insurance companies or aSSocia-
tions or partnerships, doing fire in
Surancc business in the state OF
compact or combination with any
other fire insurance companies, asso-
Citations or partnerships. The law does
not apply to mill mutuals or factory
insurance associations, which arc mu-
tual insurers, but as the companies
composing the Factory Insurance AS
sociation are companies to which the
law applies the f. |. A. Is unable to
write
1t is admitted in insurance circles
that companies that have operated for
any length of time in South Carolina
have found 1t a very Improbable field,
bccaSue OF the low rates and the heavy
taxes on the companies for the priv
iicge of doing business in the state.
Insurance company officials say that
even If the business Of the State was
profitable, the taxes moderate and
other conditions satisfactory it would
be impossible to do business there un-
der the new law with any hope OF
profit.
President IL. A. Smith, OF the Ma
tiona Fire Insurance Company of this
city, in referring to the bill said:
The bill takes from the companies
the right to cooperate in the inter
csts of economy for themselves and
In liking rates which, reasonably low
for the assured, shall he sufficiently
high to secure the solvency Of com.
panies, by placing what Is in effect
the right to make the rates in the
hands OF the insurance commissioners
He need not be a practical insurance
man, nor have any knowledge of
burning ratios or loss costs or any
further reason for action than that,
In his opinion, q rate which he orders
changed Ia unjust and a rate which he
orders substituted Is just. Or, If he
Dleases, he may say that a rate Is dis
eliminating; SO literally company
would have to change the same rate
for every risk In the State of South
Carolina, irrespective OF hazard. Fur
thermore, the agents would be in vio-
lation IL they collected cash for one
policy and allowed another assured the
usual thirty days, and If some agents
unknown to them in a remote county
allowed some Of their clients sixty
days, they would apparently be in vio-
lation."
James Wyper, vice president Of the
Hartford Fire Insurance company,
said tho Hartford Fire had been pay
ing out for number Of years on its
business in South Carolina in losses
and expenses more than 1t had re-
ceived, and If 1t had been possible un-
der the law to continue business the
company would have been obliged to
charge a material increase in rates Of
many classes.
According to George G.. Long, secre-
tary OF the Phoeniz Fire Insurance
Company, 1t has not been the practice
tary Of the Phoenix Fire Insurance
panies generally to withdraw, or even
threaten to withdraw, from state out
OF protest against unfrlendly legisla-
tion. "On the contrary" he said, 1--WE
are operating In number OF states