EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY INSURANCE AND WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION • 1. Rise of new phases of insurance.—Legislation during the past thirty years in Europe has brought about to some extent in the United States, a new form of insurance to which the general title "social insur ance" is given. In the United States the field of such legislation has been for the most part confined to questions concerning injuries which grow out of the accidents of daily employments.
The liability of the employer for the results of acci dents is an old established prindiple of law, but under common law, both in Great Britain and the United States, so many exceptions were permitted, that it was difficult to secure redress for the injured employe. Space is lacking to give the successive steps by which the obstacles confronting the claimant were removed, and by which the responsibility in accident cases was fixed more definitely and irrevocably upon the em ployer. We are concerned with the development of certain types of insurance.
2. Employers' liability insurance.—The simple fact that under the common law most of the cases were obliged to be proved in the court by the plaintiff op erated to limit the right of recovery, especially as the cases did not usually come to trial for two years. This position of the employer was much improved by the adoption of a series of laws known as Employers' Lia bility Laws. These were based on two principles: ( a) that the person who is guilty of negligence should be held liable for compensation to the injured person; and (b) the liability might arise not only from the de liberate act of negligence of the employer himself, but from that of his other employes.
3. Employers' liability laws in United States.—In the United States, employers' liability acts appear to have been passed in Alabama in 1885, Massachu setts in 1887, Colorado, 1893, Indiana, 1893, and New York in 1902. There were, as could be expected, some differences in the different states, but these were slight. The basic principles are the same in all cases.
These measures were employers' liability laws with very distinct limitations as to the recompense which the employe might receive. None the less these acts placed greater liability on the employers, who began to take out insurance to cover such liability.
4. Kinds of liability insurance.—Besides employ ers' liability many other forms of liability policies were soon placed on the market. These may be briefly summarized as follow,s: (a) The Public Liability policy which provides insurance against the liability of an employer to per sons who are not in his direct employ but who may visit his plant legitimately, that is, are not trespas sers (b) The Employers' Liability for Contractors. This protected the contractor against the liability which he assumed in employing labor on work in va rious parts of the country, that is, not limited to one location.
(c) Public Liability for Contractors, taking care for the contractor of persons legitimately on his place of business.
(d) General Liability, which provides protection to the owner of a building for injuries or death caused by defects about the building or its operation.
(e) Elevator Liability. This is for accidents caused by elevators.
(f) Team Liability, which provides indemnity to the owner for the liability which he may incur by rea son of accidents caused by his vehicles.
(g) Theater Liability, which protects the manage ment for accidents which may happen to persons in the theater.
(h) Vessel Liability, which provides protection for the owners of vessels.
(i) Physician's Liability, which protects the physi cian, surgeon or dentist, for liability for injuries which he may cause by errors in practice.
The growth of the business may be indicated by the fact that in 1887, the first year that policies covering liability insurance were written in the United States, the premiums were $131,000; while in the year 1915 they amounted to $22,000,000.