The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1918-12-05
INSURANCE RATES
UP TEN PER CENT
State Commissioner Fishback
SAYS Advance is Arbitrary
and Unwarranted

Insurance rates are automatically
raised ten per cent, according to no
tees just received here by local in
surance agents.
The notice gives as the cause of the
increase the fact that the expenses OF
the companies have been advanced SO
greatly. The increase in postage OF
so per cent; railroad fares, 20 per cent
printing, so per cent, are cited. At
tention is called, to the loss due to
Hiring inexperienced help, necessitat-
ing the employing of 20 per cent more
employees. a.
This advance in rates is branded as
absolutely unjustifed by State Insur--
ance Commissioner Fishback, who has
sent the following letter to secretar-
les of commercial bodies and mayors
turnout the state:
I am addressing you upon a subject
which believe to be of the utmost i'm
portance to the property owners Of
the State of Washington at the pres
emit time. This has reference to the
general increase IN fire insurance
rates which became effective on Nov
en,t er LIST.
In the opinion of this department
general increase in fire insurance
rates is not warranted nor justified by
the experience of the companies at this
time. -
An increase of rates of ten per cent
means approximately 100000 more
to be paid each year by the property
owners for their insurance.
The premiums and losses of stock
fire insurance companies for the past
five years covering Washington risks,
as shown by the reports on file in this
department are $27,664,6s2 paid to
stock companies and $14,322,92S re-
ceived by property owners in return
for payment of losses. This is at the
rate of return to policyholders in
losses of approximately fifty-three
cents out of each dollar paid during
fivc-year period. The above results
alone would not justify a general in
crease.
Conditions during the past two years
however, have been considerably
changed for the better. The depart
ment has been doing good deal of
fire prevention work and thru the
very hearty cooperation and assistance
of local organizations in the various
municipalities and outlying districts
better feeling has been created and
much cooperative assistance has been
secured for the protection of proper
ty against loss by fire. This work
has resulted in cleaning up. and safe
guarding properties of all kinds SO
that the possibility of loss by fire
from carelessness or thru malicious
actions has been greatly reduced.
The department claims that thru
the result of this work and also the
fact that more attention is being given
to better construction of buildings
and their equipment, better loss re-
cord has been obtained and that the
ratio is showing a decrease over past
years, which is more clearly illustrat-
ed by taking the figures of premiums
and losses for the past two years,
which covers the period of the more
active work in fire prevention:
In 1916 the premiums amounted to
st, ,2S4 and the losses, $2,668, O96.
In 1917 the premiums amounted to
S6,772,36s and the losses $2,1S5.416.
This shows loss ratio or return
to policyholders on the last two years
of approximately forty cents on each
dollar paid, while the loss ratio for
the last year (1917), for which we
have complete figures, is much lower
than any year of the group, being a
little over thirty-two per cent. Our
best information covering the current
year shows that the companies are re-
ceiving a much heavier premium in
come and are still experiencing very
favorable loss record.
#All of the above facts bear out the
of this department that +
there does not exist at this lime any
good reason why rates should
be generally increased. We all know { /
that there has been an increase in the
cost of carrying on the business be-
cause of wartime prices, but we take
he position that such increase has
been more than Offset in this state by
ire prevention activities and the bet
'er conditions which now prevail, to-
gethcr with the increase in premium
QcOme Raeauca af 4I,a ,,,,-.