Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-10-11
FARM INSURANCE
Farmers Need Of Property Insurance
and Suggestions for Meeting
This Need.


-Four kinds of property insurance
are written in which the farmer is
particularly interested. These are, i'll.
surance OF buildings and personal
property against loss by fire or light
ming, insurance OF the same objects
against loss by windstorm. insurance
OF growing crops against hail, and in
surance of live stock against death by
disease or accident.
TO the average farmer the first two
kinds OF insurance usually make the
strongest appeal. One reason for this
Is doubtless the feeling that fire and
windstorm are the destructive agencies
That most frequently. at single
stroke. deprive their victims Of the
accumulated earnings of many years.
| Perhaps second reason why farmers
usually first provide themselves with
| fre and windstorm insurance is the
fact that these are, as a rule. relative
ly less expensive than the other two
kinds of insurance here considered.
| BY this is meant that larger per
Centage Of the money collected from
the insured can be used to compen.
cate the sufferers OF loss than is the
case with hail or livestock insurance.
A simpler organization is possible. and
| fraudulent claims are more easily
| guarded against.
The fact that hail and livestock in
surance are less generally carried by
| the farmers OF the United States does
no. signify that these forms of pro.
lection are not important. Under Ger.
tain circumstances and conditions
they may even outrank in Importance
| the other two. AS the American far
mer learns to make of agriculture
more strictly science, and to eli
inmate, as far as possible, the element
OF chance, he will doubtless insist on
the further development of all the
kinds of insurance here enumerated,
and perhaps of still others.
Few farmers are 80 rich that they
can wisely 80 without insurance
Happily few are so poor that they
arc compelled to go without safe.
euard that to the average farmer may
be olassed as necessity. The very
farmer who has but few buildings am
little personal property, and is per
haps least able to pay insurance pro-
lection, is really the one who can
least afford to go without it. Hence
the importance OF making insurance
as cheap as it is possible to make it
and yet have efficient and dependable.
About two-ffths Of the farmers in
the United States have found meth,
cd OF providing themselves with fire
Insurance at greatly reduced cost
though mutual or cooperative insur.
ance associations, embracing a single
county or some such limited territory
Dependable and cheap windstorm in.
surance has similarly been provided
! ty means of larger mutual companies
| often operating in close relationship
With the local fire-insurance mutuals
Local windstorm-insurance companies
lave, however, in several instances,
been taught by experience, and to
theit own sorrow, that while each
sroup Of farm buildings and to a con
| siderable extent each building within
The group constitutes separate anQ
distinct risk so far as the fire hazard
/, is concerned, the same is not true with
reference to the windstorm hazard
Safety and stability in wndstorm in
surance demand that the amount Of
insurance be large and risks widely
scattered. The same is true of hal
insurance.
T. smaller number of trainers have
also provided themselves with hal
and livestock insurance by means Of
mutual associations. While numbe.
Of these associations have a successful
record covering many years, com
panies representing these kinds of in
curanCe have been less generally sue
cesstul than have farmers mutua
tire-insurance and windstorm-insur
ance companies. Some of the reason
for this difference in success have al
ready been suggested.
No. nfrequently letters come to tn,
Ienartmpnt relating stories If hard
ships due to losses of property no
covered by insurance, and asking /
some provision does not exist b.
which the department can aid desery
ins farmers who have met witt
special disaster to their property
The answer to such inquiries must, o
; course, be in the negative.
The Office Of Markets and Rura
; Organization of the department ha
undertaken a careful study of variou
kinds of property insurance of interes
to the farmer The information i
its possession is at the disposal @
groups Of farmers who desire to OIL
ganize with the view of provdin
| themselves under favorable condition
with insurance best adapted to thei
needs.