574 



Insurance of Live Stock. 



[NOV., 



Area Covered by the Society. — -It is generally found desirable 

 to limit the operations of the Society to a comparatively small 

 area, such as a few adjacent parishes. It is thus possible for 

 all the members to know each other and the cost of manage- 

 ment can be reduced to a minimum. If, on the other hand, 

 the members were to be distributed over any considerable 

 area, the duties of inspection, valuing and marking might 

 become somewhat onerous, and the necessary protection against 

 fraud or intentional neglect, which is afforded by the intimate 

 acquaintance of the members one with another, would be 

 wanting. 



One objection to the small area covered by a society is that 

 in the event of great mortality, such as an epidemic of con- 

 tagious disease, it may be unable to afford help when it is most 

 needed. It might be desirable to provide for such a con- 

 tingency by a rule to the effect that if the demands on the funds 

 owing to an epidemic exceed the total amount of the funds in 

 hand, the proportion of compensation payable may be reduced. 

 Many clubs provide for a levy on all the members equally in 

 the event of the funds being insufficient. The objections con- 

 nected with the limited sphere of operation could be removed 

 by re-insurance, but though this is common on the Continent 

 it has not up to the present been done in this country. 



Compensation. — In the case of cow clubs, compensation is 

 frequently paid at the rate of three-fourths of the full value, 

 but in some the value is allowed up to, but not exceeding £10, 

 with a lower limit for calves. In the case of pigs it is not 

 uncommon to pay the full amount at which the pig is valued. 

 On some grounds it would seem desirable that something less 

 than the full value should be paid. 



The valuation is usually made by a committee immediately 

 on the illness of the animals being reported by the owner. On 

 the Continent, however, animals are frequently valued on entry 

 into the society. 



Compensation in the Event of Compulsory Slaughter. — In the 

 event of the compulsory slaughter by order of the local authority 

 of any animals insured in the society, the compensation 

 payable by the society would only be the difference, if any, 

 between the sum for which the society was liable in case of 

 death and the amount actually paid by the local authority. 



