270 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



but also to secure him against loss in case damage should occur. Any 

 plan which will accomplish this — which, in other words, will insure that 

 he or his successors will be able to raise the timber to maturity or to 

 receive its actual cash value if destroyed by any cause before it can 

 be harvested — will afford a tremendous incentive to the timberland 

 owner to maintain his land in productive condition. 



Status of Forest Insurance in the United States 



Forest insurance has been developing for a number of years in 

 several European countries, but was not undertaken in the United 

 States, excepting possibly a few scattering instances, until about 1916, 

 when an old line fire insurance company began to write policies on 

 standing merchantable timber in the Pacific Northwest. This insurance 

 was limited to a comparatively small region, applied only to mature 

 timber, and covered only accessible timber which could be salvaged in 

 case of damage. Early in 1917 a few New Hampshire timber owners 

 formed and incorporated the New Hampshire Timberlands Mutual 

 Fire Insurance Company, for the purpose of insuring merchantable 

 timber and young growth. This company wrote insurance at a fairly 

 reasonable rate with a considerable degree of success, and demon- 

 strated that forest fire insurance is practicable in the United States. 

 It was, however, confined to a rather limited region, was organized on 

 a very conservative basis as to the risks which would be carried, and 

 was unable to expand as rapidly as was desirable because of various 

 limitations and requirements in the insurance laws of different States. 

 Its business has recently been taken over by a commercial insurance 

 company with wide connections and large resources, which enable it 

 to do business on a larger scale and at lower premium rates than those 

 charged by the original company. 



Forest Insurance a Distinct Business 



While it is probably true that the business of insuring forests may be 

 taken up on a gradually expanding scale by old line companies, it is 

 nevertheless evident that forest insurance presents peculiar problems 

 not common to other forms of insurance. To be carried on efficiently, 

 at costs which shall be at the same time fair and as low as possible, 

 it should be handled on a country-wide basis. To accomplish the pur- 

 pose intended, namely, the protection of growing forests and the 

 stimulation toward proper use of forest soils, forest insurance must 



