2 BULLETIN 840, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The system outlined and illustrated in this bulletin is intended for 

 farmers' mutual fire insurance companies of the prevailing type both 

 as to membership or size and as to method of doing business. It is 

 the result of a careful study of the needs of these companies and of 

 the forms and systems of records now in use. In this connection 

 numerous conferences have been had with experienced secretaries 

 and managers. It is believed, therefore, that the system recom- 

 mended will meet the needs of these companies, and that it will aid 

 in bringing about a reasonable degree of uniformity. 



SYSTEMS NOW IN USE. 



While the present methods of keeping records and accounts are 

 almost as numerous as the companies, they may be roughly classified 

 into three groups, according to the plan of keeping the main insur- 

 ance records, in what is most frequently called the policy register. 

 The three methods of keeping the policy register, which are char- 

 acteristic of these groups, may be briefly described as follows: 



I. The policy register, either permanently bound or in loose leaf 

 form, contains a description of the policies written on a horizontal 

 line extending across one page only, or across the two pages of the 

 open book. The right-hand page of the book frequently contains 

 spaces for entering a limited number of successive assessments. In 

 other instances this latter feature is lacking and separate assessment 

 lists are made out for each assessment levied. In some cases the 

 various sums of insurance applying to specific units or groups of 

 property are recorded in this book, while in other cases it contains 

 only the total amount of each policy, together with such necessary 

 items as number of policy, name of policy holder, etc. 



II. The policy register is in what may be termed the ledger form. 

 Under this plan each member is allotted a page or half a page in this 

 book. The upper part of the space allotted to a member contains the 

 entries descriptive of the policy, either with or without an itemized 

 transcription of the insurance carried, while the lower part of the 

 space provides a place for debits and credits. 



III. A card system is used for the policy records. The main dif- 

 ference between this plan and that referred to under II is that the 

 records relating to a single member are entered on a card about the 

 size of a page in this bulletin, instead of on a ledger page. As a rule 

 the cards are filed alphabetically, thus eliminating the need for a 

 separate index book or set of index cards. 



SYSTEM RECOMMENDED. 



The system here suggested is built upon Plan I, as above outlined, 

 since this form of policy register, when accompanied by certain other 

 simple but necessary books, is believed to combine to the greatest 



