FIRE INSURANCE IN THE UNITED STATES The outstanding feature in fire insurance in the United States of America is the extent to which the business is Government con trolled. The control is vested in the 48 State Governments, and their regulations and requirements vary considerably. Certain fea tures are, however, common to most of them. A company must make a deposit and obtain a licence in each State in which it wishes to operate. Each State has its own form of policy condi tions, usually based on the New York standard form but with minor differences. An annual statement of operations, in consider able detail, must be filed by each company and a periodical audit is conducted by the State insurance commissioner.
The supervision of the State extends to rates of premium and each company must file with the State Rating Office a schedule of rates covering every risk in the territory, which can only be altered by permission. Such a schedule is necessarily complicated and its application to single risks involves considerable labour and ex pense, so that usually all the companies operating in the State corn bine to share it. A system of rates is agreed upon and a rating and inspection bureau is set up, whose function it is to work out, on demand, the standard rate for any single risk, an inspection being made if necessary. Several organizations are maintained by the fire insurance offices for the collection of technical and statistical data, the most important being the National Board of Fire Under writers. The organization of a fire insurance company differs somewhat from English practice. The larger areas involved have resulted in wider powers being given to local agents who are al lowed to sign policies. Control of agency organization for a large territory is often vested in a general agent, instead of a branch, his remuneration being an over-riding commission on the business done in his area. Special agents are company officials who main tain contact between the agents and the head office. The meticu lous State control, the enormous areas covered and the wide range of climatic and occupational conditions make fire insurance in the United States a highly specialized service, calling for an unusual degree of technical efficiency.
Fire insurance outside of Great Britain and the United States is conducted on similar principles but offers some interesting modi fications in practice. In many countries the business is regulated by sections of the commercial code and there is often a national form of policy conditions. In one or two countries, notably Uru guay and Costa Rica, the Government undertakes fire insurance, while in others such as Brazil and Mexico, insurance on property in the country may not be effected abroad. A characteristic fea ture in France and Belgium is the inclusion in the contract of various civil liabilities under the code of Napoleon. Policies in these countries are usually issued for ten years, with annual pay ments of premium, and fines are imposed if the insurance is not continued for the full period.
British fire insurance companies do a large business abroad and there are few countries where they are not represented. In the Dominions and India branches are often established but normally business is conducted through agents, who have full powers to issue policies and in all respects act for their companies. Super vision from the head office can only be exercised after considerable delay and the reliability of the agent is of the utmost importance both to his company and the prestige of British insurance. In many countries a deposit must be made and income tax is pay able on profit earned. A considerable amount of insurance is effected in England on British undertakings abroad and there is a large market in London for foreign fire insurance of all kinds.
Insurance Against Loss of Profits Following Fire.—This form of insurance is designed to give protection against reduction or extinction of profits and the continued payment of standing charges when a business is wholly or partly stopped after a fire. Alternately an increase in the cost of running the business will be met providing it does not exceed the full amount of the profit and standing charges.
A profits policy provides for a specified "period of indemnity" which is the maximum time after a fire during which the loss of profits, etc., will be made good. This period, usually six to 12 months, is decided by the insured and should represent the maxi mum time necessary to restore the business to full activity.
The sum insured should then be ascertained on the basis of the net profits and standing charges for a similar period up to the end of the last financial year, provision being made if necessary for an expansion of business. The proposer must also specify the standing charges which he wishes to insure.
The basis on which the amount of the loss is calculated is usually "turnover," that is, money received or due on goods sold or work done. Each period for which a payment is to be made is compared with the corresponding period in the months immedi ately before the fire (an adjustment, if necessary, being made for unusual circumstances, such as strikes, effecting the business during the time) and the shortage in turnover found. The sum insured is then compared with the turnover for the named period up to the fire and a percentage obtained, which must not, however, exceed the proportion of profits and standing charges to turnover for the last complete financial year. The lower of these two percentages of the shortage in turnover is the sum recoverable for the period. Some modification of this method must, however, be adopted to obtain an equitable result for an expanding business. The policy conditions stipulate that the business property must be insured against fire and that liability under the fire policy must be admitted before a claim is paid on the profits policy. No payment will be made if the business is liquidated or permanently discontinued after the fire. The assess ment of losses in the manner described sometimes involves con siderable difficulty and it is usually arranged that the services of a qualified accountant be employed.
They were sometimes hung from an orna mental brass stand. The fire-irons of our own times are smaller in size and lighter in make than those of the best period. A typical example of the fireplace furnish ings of the 18th and 19th centuries is shown in the accompanying illustration.
In addition to the above, the bellows, the various cooking utensils, the hearth broom, etc., as well as the containers and recep tacles about the mantel, make an interest ing collection of fireplace furnishings.