Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-02-22
Farmers Have Varying
Experiences With Hail
Insurance Companies
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
/ Kanawha, Feb. 22.-There may be,
! probably is, such a thing as satisfac-
/ tory hail insurance. Farmers, like
1 other men, are more inclined to tell
about transactions of this kind that
4 have failed to measure up to expecta-
tions, than about those which have left
! no disappointments in their operation.
4 There may be a dozen companies fur
| nishing insurance of this kind that Is
considered worth the premiums paid
! for it but certain it is that examples
are abundant in which the insured
/ feels that he was skinned" when he
signed his policy application. The fol-
lowing story told by Hancock county
farmer is typical One day man
called on him and told how a new
company was to be formed to insure
farm crops against loss by hail. 1t
was to be cheap too; for charter men,
bers especially; the cost was not under
any circumstances to exceed IS per
thousand Of insurance in any one year.
The agent would guarantee that The
! solicitation chapter closed with the
; farmers written agreement to take
! $4,000 worth of insurance. This COM
& ihuIitS eSSdpeO ldll SlSltdtlOn ldSl sea
son but there must have been plenty
: of it elsewhere for In due time along
came the assessment notices. Instead
OF one for IS per thousand or less,
! however. Mr.. Farmer was notified that
he would be expected to contribute
Sc to other farmers not so fortu-
nate as himself there being an assess
ment Of s27.20 due at the time. The
! usual proceedings followed. There
were orders to cancel policies at once
sent to the company and replies ex-
planning that the only way to secure
such cancellation would be to pay the
assessment in full, etc. Some of these
were paid and the cancelled applica-
tons returned, The man who told
this story Joined forces with other in
terested parties, hired an attorney and
prepared to fight. A compromise was
effected and his application which he
INSISTS he does not remember signing
at all was returned with the word
cancelled" stamped on the back and
compromise written at the bottom.
He paid an assessment Of $500 or SIS
per thousand.
In the application returned was the
sentence: This association and the
insured shall be bound only by the
terms Of this application and policy is
sued therefrom." The farmer Is unable
to figure out the necessity for the
phrase, land the insured" but when
he remembers the agents oral guar
antee" he can readily understand the
why OF the remaining portion. Here
Is something else that escaped atten-
ton in the early days OF the trans
action: Il agree to pay one assess
ment each year at the home office in
--------, Iowa, and to be governed by
the articles OF incorporation and by
laws Of the association in force when
the company Is Incorporated, or there
after enacted. In case it becomes nee
essary to collect this assessment by
law or to place the collection OF it in
the hands Of a collector, agree TO pay
an attorneys fee OF $40"
The give and take" idea ran all thru
the application. For illustration, ..in
the receipt for application. given by
agent 1t is understood and agreed that
the application and obligation given is
to be returned to the applicant If the
application Is not approved or if suffi-
Gent business is not written to incor-
porate on or before May /. 1915, and
applicant agrees tina: IL case charter is
granted by May 1 that application can
not be cancelled before the first assess
ment is paid"
In conclusion it may be here written
that the next application for hail in
surance or any other kind of insur-
ance or In fact any kind Of anything
that this man is asked to sign, the
printed stipulations rather than the
agents oral guarantee" will receive
primary notice, and consideration. An
other man who carries insurance OF
this Kind said, II heard about the new
company at the time the agent was
mere but knew there is no such thing
as cheap hail insurance. l am at once
suspicious Of the word cheap in any
thing like this. The old saying about
something for nothing holds good
here as usual
Feb. II, 1915. Joe Engstrom held a
public sale on the Brummond farm
west OF town. The sales made totaled
s1i4l. and stock and outfit sufficient
TO operate a quarter section Of land
was reserved besides. Two years
earlier to day the Brummond fam
lily held sale on the same farm where
S11,0o0 worth of stuff changed hands.
same auctioneer both times, Herm
Brummond, who grew from childhood
to maturity on the farm where all this
property was sold
Farming is prosecuted on a rather
large scale here as compared to most
Iowa communities. For instance. a
man who owns a threshing outfit, about
to move away to another state found
room on g. neighbours farm to house his
machine and will leave 1t here expect
Ing to return next season and thresh
as usual. This big outfit is equipped
with two fourteen-foot chutes In which
moving chains carry bundles to the
separator. These are placed and man.
ipulated so that the pitchers to the
machine never need to raise a bundle
higher than is necessary to detach it
from Its place in load or stack.
Those looking for small town which
mas made remarkable progress in the
building Of fine residences and good
substantial business blocks in the past
year, for community of good farm
ers on farms of high quality and a
place where farmers ::a BUSINESS 71,sn.
and all appear to live and work in har-