INSURANCE RATES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1417, 18 April 1912, Page 4

INSURANCE RATES.

ME, BALLINGER AND UNDERWRITERS. In an interview, published yesterday, a local insuranco company manager replied to strictures made by Mr. T. Ballinger (at the Chamber of Commerce meeting on Monday) upon tho methods of assessing fire insurances rates in this city. Tho manager mentioned said that Mr. Ballinger's figures did not look right. Tho Auckland figures (.£50,000) for the three years that firo boards hnd been in existence, wore certainly wrong, for losses over Mackay, Logan's fire amounted to some oE120,0(i0. Mr. Ballinger's Tcply to this is that the figures which he quoted aro perfectly correct. Tho fire boards' year, he states, ends in June, and sinco Mackay, Logan's (ire occurred in November, 1911, it will figure in the 1912 report. The statement by tho underwriter, Mr. Bollinger added, rather strengthened his (Mr. Ballinger's) case. His contention was that Wellington losing were lighter than Auckland's. If the underwriters liked to add tho ,£120,000 to the Auckland figures it would make tho Wellington position appeal- still better.

In reference to the statement that the position of water-mains oil tho reclaimed land in Wellington was extremely hazardous, on account of earthquake shocks, Mr. Ballinger submits that no burst lifts ever occurred in the history of Wellington from this cause. As for tho fact of the Karori supply being low at tho present time, Mr. Ballinger suggests tlmt surely this is better than tho 101b. pressuro on the high levels of Auckland, which are in tho "A" area. As to the wind in Wellington, Mr. Ballinger states that it is a remarkable fact that although he has been associated with firo brigade work sinco he was eighteen years of age, ho has seldom known a 6trong wind to bo blowing while a fire was in progress, except during tho Hawker Street firo in 1901 (which occurred while lie was absent in England). This fire, ho remarked, would never hftvo got away if the present high-water level water supply had been availablo at tlio tim«.