Marine Insurance.
The Times, 1824-05-28T00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES 7 Sir,_It is proposed to make an entire change in the law bv which the mode of effecting marine insurance is at present iegulated.- The object of this chaage is said to be, by the estrumtion of two existing monopolies, to produce greater connpettidon in the manner of transacting this species of business. Such aan expectation is wholly at variance with the. practical state of the question. The law, as it at psesent stands prohibits Unlderwriting idt part. nership, except in two instanices, the result of 'which has been the establishment of a public mart for insurance, where upwards of a thousandaunderwrter engaged in active colmpetitiork with each other, rarry on this branch7oi business. This %ystem. has been one hund.red years advancing to its presen condition, which is ackno'wledged to be one of great perfection. Its. results are, extreme f&elit- in transacting the Dusiness of insutrance ; alowerrate ofpremiurns bionethirdthanwas everbeforeknown in this or any other country; the most ample security to the assured - and the establishment of a system of communication with all parts of thle world, constit-utngagreat pabEic commercial benefit. The object oF disturbing this state of things is, to permit the for- mation of cotnpanies and partnerships for transacting the business of insurance. It mav reasonably be askcd what is to be accomplished by tlis? Vii there be greater competition among large assoeiat. tions than among separate individuals? ILarge companies are al. ready formed, ready to act if the la.w shall permit them. They compel their shareholders to insure with tbem; and there can be no doubt that every exertion and influence vwill be used to bring busi- ness to those companies. The system of Lloyd's is that of indivi. dual competition. This competition is maintained by the quantity of business transacted there. New companies must materially re- duce the quanttyof thebusinecsto be denein loyd's *;idividualun. ierwriters will gradually retire from the trade; and the existence of Lloyd's, ns an establishment, must be wholly endangered. llaniurgh affords an instance in point at this moment. Indivi dual underwriting was destroyed there bythe establishment of insur. ance companies. When the directors of these companies found that they had succeeded so far as to reduce the number of separate un derwritera in the city of Hlamburgh to only five, they came to an un. derstanding with each other to chsrge the same rate of premiurm on all current risks; thus establishing a complete monopoly as regards All public companies are mischievous which interfere wvith busi. ness fairly within the scope of private exertion and capital. One of two consequences must follow from the establishment of the new companies for marine insurance. Either they will be successful, and ilestroy the business of Lloyd's, together with that excellent system of intelligence established with allpartsof the world; *orthev wiU be unprofitable, and bring losses on the shareholders-neither of them results to be desired. If the fact was, that there %vas more insurance to effect than there were the means of effecting, there would be some pretence for the alteration; but it is wholly the reverse of this. In short it is im. possible to show the least necessity for the contemplated change, or the least advantage to be derived from it. A MtERCHANT. .-Onlonf, Vhlay 27, 1824. - a et.censive msurance-broker ever known in Llovd'. de- clared In his evidence before the committee of the House of Coin- mons, that the losses by insolvent underwriters on sums r4scovered by him in Lloyd's, did not in a long course of years amounti to more than three-pence halfpenny per cent. MARINE iMrUR-gCE.