8 BULLETIN 786, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGBICtTLTURU;. 



373 operated in all or a part of a single county; 102 ojoerated in 2 

 counties; 87, in 3 counties; and 44 in 4 counties. Eighty companies 

 operated in from 5 to 9 counties ; 17, in from 10 to 14 counties ; 6, in 

 from 15 to 24 counties ; and 6 others in 25 counties or more. 



Of the 44 companies reporting business territory on a State basis, 

 11 indicated that they operated in part of the State; 29 that they 

 operated in an entire State; and 4, that they operated in two 

 States. 



A question was also asked concerning the maximum business ter- 

 ritory permitted the company by the law or charter authorizing it to 

 do business. From the replies to this question it appears that 811 

 companies operated in an area equal to the maximum permitted, 

 while 317 companies restricted themselves to a smaller area than that 

 legally permitted, and 9 companies on the other hand, operated in 

 larger areas than those prescribed to them by law. Twenty-four 

 companies did not give the necessary information for a comparison 

 of this kind. It may be pointed out in this connection that some of 

 the earliest farmers' mutual insurance laws limited the companies 

 organized thereunder to a single township. There has been, how- 

 ever, a general tendency to increase the business territory permitted, 

 and more recent laws almost invariably prescribe a maximum busi- 

 ness territory on a county basis. 



PLAN OF RAISING FUNDS AND FREQUENCY OF ASSESSMENTS. 



Twenty-five of the 1,161 companies returning questionnaires re- 

 ported doing business on a fixed premium plan, while 1,113 reported 

 relying mainly or in part upon assessments for their funds with 

 which to meet the obligations assumed. Twenty-three companies 

 gave no information upon this j)oint. Most of the companies oper- 

 ating essentially on the assessment plan collect in advance a mem- 

 bership or policy fee together with a slight advance charge based on 

 the amount of insurance written. The policy or membership fee 

 collected varied from $15 to 25 cents. The average such charge for 

 all the companies reporting was $1.54. The $15 fee, a membership 

 fee collected only once from each member, was charged by only a 

 single company, the next highest membership or policy fee being $5. 

 Only 17 companies reported such charges in excess of $3, and only 45 

 companies reported similar charges of less than $1. The initial 

 charges based on the amount of insurance written varied from 50 

 cents per hundred per year to two-tenths of a cent per hundred per 

 year, the average of such charges being approximately the equiva- 

 lent of 6 cents per hundred per year for the term of the policy. 



In reply to a question on frequency of assessments, 121 companies 

 reported that no assessment had hitherto been made. Of the remain- 

 ing companies 76 reported having made but 1 assessment during the 



