FIRE LOSSES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20038, 20 September 1930, Page 17

FIRE LOSSES.

CITY'S BIG TOTAL. DIFFICULT TO ACCOUNT FOR. six years firelossesin the 'Dominion were a little over £1,000,000. There has been a steady increase nptil this year they amount to £1,230,255,and this is a conservative estimate. The real reason for the huge.amount is noteasy to understand, and even insurance managers are somewhat at a loss to ae-' count for the increase in property lost by fire. Christchurch this fire year cornea': second on the pared with Wellington £102,000, Auckland £44,000, and Difaedin £24,000. It can be assumed, of course, that the "firebugs" who were so active afew months ago were responsible for a grdat deal of the loss. There were, -for instance, the " petrol fire,'' Bing, Harrises fire, and Heywood's-fire. It is Remarkable how the smaller fires, doing'damage* to the extent of £lO, £15 { and £2O, > mount upland with the. addition of the bigger cases of destruction the- amount at the end' of the year becomes very j considerable. A prominent insurance manager stated yesterday, that from a Canterbury'point I of vifew there was no doubt that during the past six years fire losseß had increased considerably. "Our own experience," he said, "has been that the loss h&s been sustained on what we term first-class risks. Dwellings should be the cream of a company's insurance, but, strange to say, ;in New * Zealand such,properties have not proved profitable to the companies in Bome cases. If has been stated that fire losses increase in times ' of depression, but during the latter part of the war,period the.losses, by fire in the Dominion were not! at all up to the average." No One Benefits. Heavy fire losses benefited no one in the long run, he continued. When a place was burnt down the insurance company always' had to pay out, arid the commodity, burnt was absolute waste. Another ' aspect was that: the companies did not grant the full value of the commodity insured. Therefore, if a man had his house and' furniture set- down at £2OOO, the chances were that his insurance money would not amount to more than £ISOO or £1750. He, as well as the company, would be a loser. , Defective chimneys were no doubt the; cause of a good many fires in certain parts of North Canterbury subject to earthquakes. The shocks appeared to be harmless so far as the chimneys were concerned, but it had been proved that in many cases the mortar was-loosened, creating cracks in the bricks, and there was eventually a blaze that could not otherwise be accounted for. It was quite well known that the fire loss in New Zealand was very high, but it was exceedingly difficult to put one's finger j on the reason.