26 SWITZERLAND - INSU RANGE AND THRIFT 



Aktien-Gesellschaft of Perleberg in Prussia — practised insurance against 

 mortality among live stock in Switzerland in 191 5. The two former insured 

 only horses while the last named also assumed the risks of cattle. 



We noticed in our October number that the war had reacted strongly 

 on insurance against mortahty among hve stock. The insurance of horses 

 has suffered especially. The importation of horses has almost ceased. The 

 important gaps which have been produced in the available stock of horses 

 have been impossible to fiU owing to the high prices on the market. A di- 

 minution of the sums insured and the premiums received has ensued 

 necessarily. All the companies have felt the influence of the stat-' of af- 

 fairs : one of them was affected to a degree which obUged^it in 1915 to give 

 up insuring butchers' live stock. We should add that casualties for which 

 indemnities had to be paid diminished in 1915 but the ratio in which they 

 stood to the premiums received increased perceptibly none the less. This 

 is due to the fact that the quantity of the forage used to feed the live 

 stock has been lowered since the outbreak of war. The more intensive use 

 of the animals has certainly contributed to the same result. 



The development of insurance against mortahty among Uve stock in 

 Switzerland from 1912 to 1915 was as follows : 



Casualties 



I9I2 



I9I3 

 I9I4 



I915 



As regards financial results obtained by these societies in 191 5 we will 

 report here only the data referring to the business accompHshed in Swit- 

 zerland. To make these results clearer we will resume those concerning 

 Switzerland only from 1912 to 1915. 



The Mutuelle Chevaline Suisse has been able to pay 75 per cent, of 

 the estimated value of their losses to those insuring with it. As is known, 

 the insured person insures 75 per cent, of the estimated value of his insured 

 horses — in other words one fourth of the animals' value is not insured 

 at all. For the first time since this society was founded in 1901 it has been 

 obHged to apply article 16 of its by-laws and exact from its members an 

 additional premium in order to pay for the losses of the current year. This 

 extraordinary contribution was fixed by the administrative coimcil at 

 30 per cent, of the normal premium, and it sufficed to cover the excess of 

 the expenditure of the year which reached 57,929.10 francs. 



