YoL. VIII. No. 175. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



INSURANCE OF CROPS AND BUILD- 

 INGS AGAINST HURRICANE DAMAGE. 



The svstein of insurance startrii a few years nfjo 

 for the purpose of providing West Indian phmters with 

 a means of safe-guarding their cultivated crops, and ako 

 iheii- buildings against damage by hurricane, lately 

 formed the subject of a lengthy article in the London 

 Ti'iiu'^ (see Agricultural A"i-u-s,^oy. 14 last, page 3.57). 

 The question has been further followed up by Mr. E. A. 

 J\gar, of Dominica, who contributed a letter to the 

 Times on October 30 last, dealing with this matter of 

 insurance from the point of view of the planter. 



Mr. Agar poiut.s out that, althoiigb there can be no 

 -doubt as to the value of this kind of insurance, yet the 

 system has not so far been the success it deserves to lie in the 

 ^\'est Indies, owing to the fact that the scope of insurance is 

 1:oo narrow, and especially that the rates are too high. 



Carefully collected statistics show that the actual 

 •damage suffered in Dominica during the last century as the 

 TBSult ijf hurricanes was aliout one-sixtieth of 1 per cent, per 

 annum. Vet the annual premium of insurance asked for 

 -cacao and limes is 2 per cent. If the adojition of insurance 

 became general, however, the receipts would be largely 

 increased, in ja-oportion to the cost of administration, and 

 •premiums would probably be placed at a lower figure. 



The difficulty of properly assessing the actual damage 

 •done to permanent cultivations such as cacao by a hurricane, 

 ■when the chief effects noticeable are twisted branches, broken 

 bark, etc., partial destruction of a wind-break, is referred to, 

 and the need of a systematic basis on which a workable 

 system of insurance may properly be established is pointed 

 •out. 



!Mr. Agar ]iuts forward the suggestiim that since the 

 -actual path of a hurricane is known exactly-, and is afterwards 

 -charted by the United States Weather Bureau, the cliart thus 

 is.sued slinuld serve as the basis for deciding the amounts 

 that should be jiaid for damage. On this system it is proposed 

 that estates which lie within 15 miles of the line followed by 

 the centre of the hurricane be paid 100 per cent, of the value 

 ■of their crops, estates outside 15 miles but within 25 miles, 

 80 per cent.; within 40 nnles, 50 per cent. ; within 60 nnles, 

 *20 per cent.; while nothing be paid in the case of estates 

 lying outside a radius of 60 miles. 



In the case of limes, the greater proportion (about ISO 

 per cent.) is gathered during the ^i.-c months from July to 

 ■December, viz., 15 percent, of the crop in July, 30 per cent. 

 dn August, 30 per cent, in September, 7 per cent in October, 

 6 per cent, in November, and 12 per cent, in December. If 

 a hurricane occurred at any time during this period, the 

 portifin of the lime crop that had been already gathered 

 would in justice be first eliminated from the claim, i. e., 

 should the hurricane be experienced in July, damage would 

 be claimed (on the system suggested above) over the whole 

 ■ crop ; but if in August, over only 85 per cent. (15 per cent, 

 of tlie fruit having been already reaped), in September 55 

 per cent., and .so on. According to these propo.sals, a lime 

 crop in.sured for £1,000, would be entitled to receive, if 

 the estate were situated 40 nnles distant from the line" 

 followed by a hurricane occurring in September, 55 per cent.. 

 of 50 per cent, of the amount of the policy, nr £275. 



With cacao the whole of the Christmas crop would lie 

 affected by a hurricane, and claims would be based merely on 

 the distance of estates from the centre of the storm. 



In further reference to this question, the following 

 brief article, dealing with the extension of the move- 



ment for insurance against hurricane damage in the 

 West Indies, which appeared in the West India. (Jum- 

 riiitfee Cirvidar of November 24 last, shouhl also be of 

 interest to planters: — 



During the course of the present year a largely increased 

 business in hurricane insurance has been transacted. This 

 has been particularly noticeable in the ca.se of Barbados, where 

 the demand for this form of insurance during the hurricane 

 season was so great that Messrs. Henry Head it Co. were at 

 some difficulty in placing the risk.s, owing to the fact that 

 underwriters at Lloyd's still look upon the bu.siness as some- 

 what experimental. Stejis, however, have been taken to give 

 Messrs. Lynch A Co., their local representatives, to whose 

 energy the increase of business is verj- largely due, greatly 

 increased authority for next year. There has also been a steady, 

 though not so marked, increase of business in the other islands, 

 and especially in Porto Rico, where several of the large 

 modern equipped sugar factories have been covered, ilessrs. 

 Henry Head ct Co. have had claims for damage to about 

 50 acres of cotton in Nevis, and some 15 acres in Montserrat 

 from the blow on Sejitember 25 last. This would only be 

 described as a mild hurricane, but it was sufficient to do 

 a considerable amount of damage to the growing cotton. 

 The prennum paid amounted to 3.s. per acre with a return 

 of 6</. per acre in the event of no claim being made 

 at the end of the season, and the owners have been paid 

 £3 lO.s-. for each acre damaged to such an extent as to require 

 re-plantii]g. Had, however, the damage been done in October, 

 they would have received compensation at the rate of £6 per 

 acre. This somewhat arbitrary scale of compensation does 

 not seem entirely satisfactory, and it is suggested that in 

 future it be somewhat elaboratel. For instance, there seems 

 no reason why the scale of compensation should not be 

 increased for each fortnight of the season. The question of 

 the insurance of canes has been receiving the careful atten- 

 tion of this same firm, but although they have obtained 

 a considerable amount of further information, they have not 

 yet been able to devise a satisfactory method of assessing the 

 damage. They state that they would welcome any suggestions 

 from practical planters. The position is this : that while the 

 insurers are ready to indemnify planters for the actual loss 

 they have suffered, they wish particularly to avoid paying 

 more than this loss, as if they clo so, it will inevitably mean 

 that the prennum will have to be a high one, and that the 

 honest planter will in conse(|Lience have to sufler. On the 

 whole, it is felt that probably the best scheme would be 

 a somewhat sindlar one to that of the cotton insurance, i.e., 

 a fixed scale of compensation varying in accordance with 

 the period at which the hurricane occurs and the different 

 classes of canes. 



Lime Honey from Dominica. In mentioning 



that the Uonnnica .\gricultuial School was awarded a .silver 

 Banksian medal at the recent Colonial Fruit Show for 

 oranges and lime honey, the \\'<xt India Committee Circular 

 refers to the novelty of the latter product. .Messrs. Travers 

 & Sons, Ltd., reported upon the honey, and stated that it is 

 very suitable for the English market. Honey is generally 

 sent over to England from the West Indies in casks contain- 

 ing about 3 cwt., and .shipped both in the set and li(iuid 

 condition. As near as could be judged, West Indian lime 

 honey would at present be worth about 23«. to 25s. delivered 

 in London. Shipipents of honey from Jamaica to England 

 commence each year about March, and continue until late in 

 the autumn. 



