HIGHER INSURANCE RATES.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1929, Page 8

HIGHER INSURANCE RATES.

The decision of insurance authorities that premiums on certain risks must be raised will cause little surprise. It is the corollary of the tremendous fire waste in the Dominion, to which attention has been called so frequently during the last decade. In spite of these warnings fire losses have shown a progressive increase and insurance earnings a corresponding reduction. Last year the losses from fire in New Zealand totalled well over £1,000,000, and according to the report of the Government Inspector of Fire Brigades (Mr. T. M. Hugo) the majority of the fires were due to carelessness more than anything else. The percentage of fires due to incendiarism is small; it is the careless occupier of property that is the menace, and the result is a huge economic loss to the community. It is sometimes thought that if fir© losses are covered by insurance there is no real loss, but a little reflection would show that with material utterly destroyed, as is the case with fire, assets disappear which must be made good by the community directly or indirectly. Insurance authorities have done their best to awaken the public to a sense of its responsibility in the prevention of conditions which increase the risk of fire, and have stated quite plainly that if an improvement were not brought about the charges for insurance must be increased. Kindly advice having been disregarded it remains to be seen whether a larger direct charge for protection against fires will stimulate vigilance in preventing their occurrence. Either directly or indirectly in the long run the public pays for losses by fire. The sooner this is fully recognised and individuals learn that the duty of ‘arefulness is one towards the community as well as for their benefit the sooner is the Dominion’s bad fire record likely to be improved.