RAIN INSURANCE

Hokitika Guardian, 12 July 1935, Page 5

RAIN INSURANCE

NOVEL POLICY MELBOURNE COMPANY'S ISSUE. (Australian Press Association). MELBOURNE, July 9. Insurance against rain on Friday shopping nights and against the failure of a horse on a vain soaked track are risks covered in a new form of “Pluvius” policy issued hy a Melbourne proprietary company.

The policies provide for insurance against a quarter of an inch of rain, 2o point*, falling within nine hours- 1 - 9 a.m. to fi p.ni.——cm any specified day, at least seven days ahead, at a premium of 2s 6d for every £2 of indemnity.

They have been devised to appeal to small insurers. There is no limit to the number issued to any one person for any day. The company states, for example, that holiday-makers who liavo spent money cm clothes, fares and so on, are entitled to compensation by insurance if rain spoils their outing. Another case quoted is that of an outdoor. worker, such as a bricklayer, wh* might lose a day’s pay if stopped by rain.

Tti the case of a racehorse, such a policy has been issued already. The manager of the company said that so far they were showing a profit of 13 per cent on the premium revenue, but later when the wet weather set in, the claims might be much greater. Hundreds of policies bad been taken out by traders to cover Fridays, and in the past eight weeks tne company had had to pay out only once—on June 7, when 31 points of rain fell during the nine hours covered by the policy.