MUNICIPAL INSURANCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16982, 19 April 1917, Page 5

MUNICIPAL INSURANCE

— i-. ALTERATION IN THE PROPOSALS.,-. ,

ACCIDENT INSURANCE ADOPTED^

EIRE INSURANCE HELD OVER.

The question of municipal insurance- came beiore the City Council ugam at its meet-' ing last flight, when two notices of motion wero disouosed. At the previous meeting of tiie council a resolution that the city carry out its own lire mid accident insurance, taking £17,000 irom the renewal lunds as a basis on which to start, \tas adopted.

Last night Cr Sinclair moved—" That the recommendation in ciause 4 of the report of the Finance Committee, adopted at tho meeting of the council on March 28, 1917, relative to tho City Corporation under- s taking its own tiro and accident insurance risks, be rescinded."

Cr Scott moved—" That tho recommendation by the Finance Committee, adopted by the council at its meeting on Wednesday, March. 28, 1917, referring to fire and < accident ri&ks, be, and the same is, heieby rescinded, lor iJie purpose of substituting tho following in lieu thereof:—(a) That the Finance Committee be, and the committee is, hereby instructed to iorthwith arrange to carry tho council's own risk under " 'JLiiQ Workers' Compensation tor Accident Act" \ aad '" Tho Employers' Liability for Acci- ' dents Act." (b) \Lhat tho Finance Committee i be, and the committee is, hereby uj. structed to place the tiro risks with the insurance companies for the present hnan- "" cial year: further, that tho committee be instructed to report to tho council within, ' six months from the date hereot regardm* , a scheme by which the council would carjry - one-half of the total tiro risks, such iepdrt V to'deal with the provision lor estfabhbuu4g a fund to be treated as a nucleus of k fund to which any claims for that portioS ' of the risk carried by the council would Be ' debited." 1 Or Sinclair said,, ho considered it was im - the intereste ot tho city that that resolu? 1 tion should/ be rescinded as soon as possibiej - It was a very big question, .and v he wa» quite satisfied that the town clerk had overt looked a very important point in drawing up lrig report, and. that was tho law dt insurance averages. The proposal was nofe a sound one. insurance experts had decid&d years and years ago that tney could not 0 carry on insurance unless it was on soundl insurance lines. The risks should bo eltended over a large area, and the riskk reduced to as small an amount aa possible* J-ho proposal of the council did not comply, with those conditions. If tho council hadi one iocs it would rencter their insurance fundi practically bankrupt. lie asked then* whether they were justifi?d in placing such a r:sk on the ratepayers.. He thbugat thrf matter should stand over, and be Drought up again beloro tho uext financial' year! t ine piopcsai was a gamble pure and simple? Cr l_,unn second tne motion. £ Or Wilson said he was not at th% council at tho previous meeting when th* > matter came up lor discussion. There* was, however, no proposal He would mori * heartily support tiian that to take overf the wnolo ot their insurance. Then- risiaL were eo wide apart and 60 excellent; thai* tno sum oi jJii,iAjO was twxse tno amoun» tnat tuey required to start with; f Or Kaywora said that the council did no* know .anytning about ttie new insurances schemo. lie intended to support Gγ» toinoiair's amendnitait. [ | Cr Taverner said there was no i that tiio d-stribucion of xiaks and tae'\ variety of risks was tho basis on 4 which./ sound insurance was worked. There was/ no guarantee, except that which a gamblerf s accepted, that they would not 6ustain a» severe loss. - B >

Tiie Mayor said there was a certain i amount ot diversity cf opinion amongst I councillors tueinseives, and iie tnougut mat- I ters should go- on as at present and the F proposals bo reconsidered in sis. months' 7 time. Councillors were apparently not m ( the position to know as much about the! scheme as they should be to decide on 1 sucn an important po.nt. Cr Shaddock said that he -was still of the opinion that the council should ' take its own risk. 'In© articles in the newspapers that . Or Sinclair had r"eierrod to had all been written by insurance people from then- own itanapomt i_no opposi- ~ Uon had been raised by the insurance companies. The business was such a profitable one that the insurance companies did ' not want to lose it. Insurance agents had( waited on him and they / had given hirry , the speech that Cr Sinclair had given them tnat night.—U*aughter.) Cr Small eaid he considered then: riska were well extended from Waipori to Dua» edin. He tnougnt, however, tnat councillors themselves were under a misapprehension as to the amount of their risks. For. instance, the cost of the converter station and inacninery was £5i2,b34, and the ' insuranco was £52,025.. Wajpori power Btatwn and plant, £45,000; insurance £27,000; substation and equipment, WakarL, £ll,b£ti; insurance, £4550; substation, eta, Outrun, £6'ii9o; insurance, ijdxta; wooden ' building (not otherwise enumerated) £4812- ' insurance, £47<HJ ;—cost, axi( bO4; insurance, £70,804. Aleters and appliances in consumers' promises, dost £19,556 (uninsureuj; tramway buildings ana hi.tures, £22,7 ib; insurance, iJUXA); cars £04,440" insurance, £22,700; plant and too'ls. £2343total cost, £/9,49y; insurance, '£29,700. Cr M'Millan said that the council should remain firm to its previous decision. Expert insuranco opinion was that Dunedin was one oi the most immune towns from fires o£ any place hi Australasia. During the last 10 years, for every £100 'carried in Dunedin the loss was only 3s 5d per hundred. He understood that in the year 1908 Mayor Loudon introduced a scheme to carry tramway accident, insurance, and the credit balance fo-day stood at £7325. Cr White said he would agree with Cr Sinclair that the risk was too great for the council at the present tune, but he trusted the insuranco companies would 6eriously consider reducing their rates. ; f . In reply, Cr Sinclair said that on thentramway sheds the second wealthiest insurance company in the world would not take more than £3000. He wanted to stress the'point that they were talcing the rsk at a time they could ill afford to sustain a loss. The voting on Cr Sinclair's motion was as follows:— . . ' Ayes.—The Mayor, Crs Sinclair, Lunn, Tavcrner, Sincock, Pattern, Douglas, White, Hastie. Noes.—Crs Carroll, Thorn, Hancock WHson, Shaddock, Bogg. Scott, Small, Whyte Crs Hay ward and M'Millan-paired. The voting was equal. The Mayor said the constitutional method was to keep things as they were. Ho considered, therefore, notwithstanding the previous decision y of the council, that the proper "course was for him to uphold the scheme that had been m existence in the past, and not take the new view. He would therefore give hia casting vote for Cr Sinclair's motion, which* was thereupon dcolared carried. A question 'aroso whether Cr Scott was -, then in order in moving h : s motion, but \ the Mayor ruled in his favour. : Cr Scott's motion was then put and carried, the voting being as follows: — Ayes.—Crs Carroll. Hancock, Wilson, Shaokloolc. Sincock. Patton, Bogg, Scott Small, M'Millan, Whyte. ' ' ' Noes.—Crs Sincla : r, - Lurm, Thorn, Tavcrnor, Douglas, White, Hastie.