The Silver State

THE INSURANCE LAW.

Unless all signs fail the insurance law, passed by the present Legislature over the Governor's veto, will work a positive injury to the State. Already the insurance companies are notifying their agents not to write any more policies on personal property and to limit the amount on buildings. This is merely preliminary to withdrawing entirely from the State if the law is permitted to remain on the statute books.

The more the Independent studies this law the more it is convinced that it is vicious legislation. Under it dishonest property holders and dishonest insurance agents can and will conspire to rob the insurance companies. A man with an unproductive building will get it insured for more than the cost of replacing it and then burn it and the insurance company will be compelled to pay the full amount of the policy. This not only encourages dishonesty, but is a direct incentive to incendiarism.

The result of it will be that the insurance companies will withdraw from the State and the owners of property will be left without any protection against losses by fire. This places every business man of the State at the mercy of the firebug and deprives him of any remuneration for his losses. This is a state of affairs that our legislators should carefully consider before their final adjournment.

It may be too much to ask of a Legislature to repeal an act it has placed upon the statute books, but it should not hesitate to rectify any errors it may make. The Independent believes the passage of this law to be a grave mistake and calls upon the Legislature to repeal it. Those who honestly insure their property cannot profit by it. They are fully protected now.-Elko Independent.