SUGGESTIONS FOR RATING FOREST INSURANCE 707 



pression, scoring such points as detection, means of communication 

 and transportation, location and character of regular protective force, 

 location and adequacy of equipment and supplies, available help (quan- 

 tity, quality, and time required to get it), fire lines or other provision 

 for checking or helping to check fires, and available water. 



(/) For occurrence of fires, classify the risks in each type in each 

 region, as outlined in paragraphs (a) and (b), and subdivide them ac- 

 cording to exposure to causes of fire. Risks more than one-half mile or 

 one mile from any special hazard, or even closer if separated from 

 it by a natural or artificial break which will stop fires, may be consid- 

 ered as subject only to the general hazard of fires from natural causes 

 or scattered chance fires from human causes. Risks adjacent to or 

 within a half mile or a mile of special hazards and not separated by 

 effective fire breaks, will be classified as subject to such special hazards. 

 These include railroads, logging operations, industrial plants, settle- 

 ments, land-clearing operations, routes of travel, places frequented 

 by campers and smokers. A given risk may be subject to any one or 

 to all of these hazards. I have purposely omitted incendiarism be- 

 cause I doubt whether forests should be insured in regions where 

 public sentiment stands for incendiary fires except as rare occurrences. 



PROPOSED METHOD FOR RATING HAZARD 



The loss costs of the diiTerent classes of risk can then be determined 

 by the following method ■} 



1. For each of the classes described in paragraphs (o) to (d) above, 

 divide the total loss over a period (preferably at least 10 years) by 

 the total value on the burned area previous to the fire. This will give 

 the damage factor, which may perhaps be considered as the com- 

 bustibility of the given class of risk. 



2. For each of the sub-classes described in paragraphs (a) to (e), 

 compute the average acreage per fire (excluding conflagration). This 

 result will integrate the factors of rate of spread and of efifectiveness 

 of fire protection. 



3. For each class of exposure hazard, outlined in paragraphs (a), 

 (b), and (/), above, compute the average number of fires that occur 

 from that cause per unit of area, say per 100,000 acres. 



* I will not attempt at this time to discuss the question of allowances for oper- 

 ating expense or profit. These, if forest insurance were undertaken by a public 

 agency, might not enter into the problem. 



