The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-09-29
RATES INCREASED AGAIN.
INSURANCE ISSUE AGAIN AT
FRONT,
commissioner McNfaster Places Blame
Tor Increased Loss Ratios With
Companies and Agents.

ter state insurance Commissioners is |
sued the following statement with re-
gard to the increase in fire insurance
rates. which the South Carolina In
spection and Rating Bureau will put
into effect in this State on October
LAS is known by those who have
read the law passed at the recent ses-
sion OF the legislature which repeal-
ed the Laney- Odom act, the insurance
commissioner has no more power over
hre insurance rates than any other
citizen OF the State. All that he NAV
90 Is to refer alleged discriminatory
rates to the South Carolina commits
sion OF three, to be appointed by the
governor. This any private citizen
may do on his own co,.nt. In re-
spect to excessive an, unreasonable
rates, the commission of three itself
Is bound by formula in the law we'll
nigh impossible of effective applica-
ton having under consideration the
various requirements of the formula.
THE commissioner may inquire OF
the bureau the reasons for the in
crease In rates. This the ocmmis-
sioner did do on September Is and in
reply thereto the bureau gives the
following information:
THAT the data on which the in
crease were based gives results of
the experience of 80 or more of the
most prominent companies operating
in the State Of South Carolina for the
preceding five years, as follows:
Mercantile buildings. loss ratio,
1924 per cent; contents of mercan-
tile buildings. loss ratio, 80 per cent;
dwellings and their contents, loss ra
ito, 1OS per cent.
1.-The other classes upon which in.
creased rates are to apply October ]
are notoriously Improbable. This Is
so we'll known to the underwater,
that they did not deem it necessary
to get too great labor in preparing
detailed statistics to demonstrate a
fact well known. Therefore, we have
no data giving in detail, the expert.
ence with these classes
THE commissioner does not doub,
the accuracy Of the figures given ir
this letter and under the circum.
stances. and under the provision.
OF the act of 1917 does not see how
the South Carolina commission to be
appointed may do anything.
But the insurance commissioner i:
OF the opinion that the fire insurance
companies and their agents are re.
sponsible for these excessive loss ra
tios. He calls attention to the fac
that last year when these companie.
had withdrawn from the State tha
the loss ratio Of the South Caroline
companies for the year 1916 was only
20 per cent. and of the companie.
OF other States which did business ir
South Carolina in 1916 their ratio wa.
35 per cent. The commissioner state.
that these figures may not be taker
as complete showing because Of tht
fact that the large mass of the bust
ness was written towards the latte,
part of the year and it would be neces
sary to extend the record far into
1917 to get an accurate idea Of the
actual loss for the premiums written
in 1916. But from the best obtainable
Information, the loss ratios of this
business are remarkably low. This
the commissioner attributes to very
careful writing by the companies last
year and the more careful selection
and supervision Of the agents by the
companies themselves.
"The commissioner adds also that
1t does seem remarkable that stock
companies find it necessary to charge
81 per 500 for fire insurance when
the mutual companies in this State
on the average for the past ten years
have written not only fire insurance,
but windstorm insurance on farm
dwellings, barns and tenant houses, at
an average rate Of about As cents per
500. And yet those farmer agents
are not supposed to know anything
about insurance.
Likewise there are number of
mutual companies known as interim
surers which are said to be writing
selected lines throughout the State
and giving results incomparably less
than the stock companies which how
ever, write everything and seemingly
anything. The commissioner states
that so far as he knows that only
one town in this State, Charleston.
has anything like accurate records OF