Pueblo chieftain., 1921-07-10
SAYS PRESENT SYSTEM
OF CAR INSURANCE
NOT PUBLIC POLICY

Harry w CASTOR. president Of the
lexington Motor company. of New
York, in letter to the Automobile |
Editor of the New York American |
seems to think that the present sys-
tenn of the insurance companies in
granting so called valued policies"
is contract decidedly against public
policy and has contributed largely to
the increased theft of cars. Mr.. Gas
toms letter follows:
Mr. Duncan Curry. Automobile Ed
itor New York American. City.
Dear Mr.. Curry:
Some days ago I read with consid- !
cradle interest your article dealing
with the growing problem that con-
fronts the insurance companies and
owners of motor cars because of the |
mounting theft rate. Apparently the
insurance companies are giving a
great deal of thought to the solution
of this problem. The Aetna has taken
a step in the right direction, but they
have not stepped nearly far enough in !
my humble opinion.
Locks and Policies-I had recently a
circular letter from financing com
pany who ar"ises that the Eastern In
surance Conference has wired that ef-
fective April l the penalty charge for
the absence of an approved locking
device on a motor car will be in
creased from Si5 TO S2j in the Boroughs
of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Bronx,
meaning that the poor and long suf-
ferinE motorist will have to pay $40
more per year than he now pays each
time he insures his motor car In other
words, the thieves continue to profit
and motor car owners continue to pay
in ever Increasing sums. | venture the
assertion that IL the insurance com
ranies unite. as they seem to unite on
everything else. on n more sane and
practical plan. theft statistics would be
cut in half over night and Insurance
rates could. therefore, be reduced over
30 per cent. But, either because they
do not want to or because they can
not see the light. they are writing
business on the same old basis and in
Furance rates have risen to point
where they constitute an actual re-
sistance to the sale OF an automobile
and. unfortunately. the rates are still
Going higher.
II seems ridiculous 10 me- for .ho
insurance companies to assess a
penalty against those who do not
equip their cars with locks when there
is not the slightest assurance that tho
locks so provided as equipment will
he used by the owners OF the cars. II
IL one thing to place lock on a car
and quite another thing to use II. All
the locks in creation will not avail to
foil the thief IL these locks are not
'sed, and 7 have been forced to the
conclusion during my many years ex-
I'Il'nCs IN tine retail ana wholesale
distribution OF motor cars that the
owners Themselves are In most cases
responsible for the Thrift Of .heir motor
vehicles. due to their careiessness
We know, OF course. that there is a
certain element OF people among motor
car purchasers who arc reasonably
honest. yet at the same time they do
not feel any sense Of moral guilt II
thru their carelessness or Indifference
their cars are stolen and tho insur-
cd n
the iudcmnities. There Is another
class considerably lower In the moral
Fcale who frequently consplrc to have
their car stolen or undertake. dcIiber-
ately TO make II comparatively easy
for thief to do his work. There Is Of
course. third class. unfortunately
very scarce. who use their best Of
forts to prevent tho theft Of their cars
The first two classes naturally would
not he expected to use locks. even tho
the cars were equipped herewith. and
these are the ones who are resrorsi-
hle for tho vast number OF thcfts and
IN" excessive insurance rates
Agains Public Polic"-The so-caIied
valued policy now written by irsur-
ance companies Is. I firmly believe, a
contract decidedly against public po,-
Icy. Under n policy OF this Kind an
owner may pay $4,000 for a car. and
after running n eleven months and
twenty-nino DAYS recover In the event
the car Is stolen tho full price ne paid
Tor the car In the beginning. II can he
tendlly seen that n great many people
would not bother to usc n locking de-
vice on their cars II they knew they
would he stolen thru their Indifference
or carelesEness. as II would mean an
actual profit 10 them on the trau,ac-
uos, n n man should buy suit OF
clothes and insure II for tho full pur-
chase price, he would not hc greatly
Interested IN protecting that suit
against theft at tho end OF eleven
L., sar ha VIII ~.
de-irous n some good kind theiet
would come along and mako way with
u. N he could recover tho full price
of II. Then he cot,k 20 out and buy
new suit. have II insured and so on
indefinitely. So far MS know md be-
lleve, the insurance companies have
taken no steps to remedy this con-
dition."