The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1919-05-01
SHOULD FARMERS
CARRY HAIL ms.
State Insurance Commissioner Writes
Letter Explaining State Law

Inquiry rs 10 Ike pIdStiSdi iedoohs
why a farmer should carry hail in
~surance in the state fund.
Dear Mr.. Newell:
II have your letter In which you
ask IL, in my judgments, a farmer
should carry hail insurance in the
State Fund for the 1919 season. l
have given this matter a great deal
OF thought and consideration and
realizing. asi l do, that you farm a
considerable acreage and that the in
surance premium is a matter Of some
moment end unless you feel justified
you would hesitate in obligating your
self to pay it
ITO make q concrete case, let us
take into account the sowing Of 100
acres of wheat. Wheat on the mar
ket at the present time is worth $2.25
per bushel; seed wheat such as you
use on your farm is worth at the least
calculation $3.50 per bushel. You SOW
at least IL bushels to the acre, so
that the seed alone for an acre of
wheat would approximate $40. Add
to this the cost of blowing. or $500
per acre, and $1.00 an acre for drill
ing and dragging the ground and you
have already invested in your land
s6.12, to say nothing of rental.
only two things can prevent you
from getting returns from this ex-
penditure of time and money: drouth
or hail. You can eliminate one of
these conditions by paying a small
premium into the State Hail Fund of
35c per acre, in your particular zone.
Or, in other words, taking into conssc-
Grafton 100 acres of crop you can get
s 1 100000 protection on your invest
ment of $4,000, so far as hail Is con-
cerned by paying $500 or 81 per
cent, for insurance in the State Hail
Insurance Fund-a much lower rate
! than has eve been made to the farm
ers of any state for nail insurance.
sThe farmers of the state paid out
in the last seven years for hail insur@
ance the sum of $751; 23.31O.S6, receiv-
ing in return in the same time $3.327,-
2S5. Is; in 1913 the farmers paid for
hail insurance in South Dakota ST.
577,217.27, and received back in losses
1858, S69. 46, which was 1890, 924.12 less
than they paid in premiums, on about
~one-seventh of the cultivated land of
the state. The large expenditure for
insurance premiums led to a vote on
the question of whether the state
should provide hail insurance to the
farmers at cost or not and it was
decided by a vote Of approximately
two to one that the state eliminate all
possible overhead expense and furnish
hail insurance to the farmers of the
state at actual cost.
My attention has been called to par.
ties who, though selfish interests,
are asking the farmers to exempt
themselves from the state hail insur-
ance law, giving as one of their main
reasons that state hail insurance in
North Dakota has not been success
full. There is no comparison between
the North Dakota law and the South
Dakota law. Under the North Dakota
law the farmer was compelled 10 pay
cash in advance which sometimes ne
cessitated his borrowing the money to
pay the premium; o did the North
Dakota law provide for payment of the
losses in full, while the South Dakota
law provides for payment of 100 per
cent on the dollar.
Some insurance agents, We are in
formed, have in their possession ex-
emption blanks furnished them by
certain Of the companies they repre-
sent, asking that the agent have the
farmer exempt himself from the state
hail law to the end that they may Sc
cure a larger premium for their com
pany and a commission for themsel-
YES. IL the farmer hasn't ready cash
to pay the premium they will take
his note In the state fund no note is
required, nor interest charged, prem
ium being payable after January LIST,
each year with other taxes. Then, too
we have been informed that certain
attorneys over the state are recon-
mending that the farmers come to
them so that they can make out ex-
emption blanks for them. so that they
may collect a small fee for this SER
vice. The assessor will carry all ne
cessary blanks which are so simple
that the farmer car make them out in
his W home and mail them to the
County Auditor, or IL he desires he
a go to the office OF the County Aud
itor and make them out. These blanks
are> all free to the farmer and there