RECEIPTS FROM AND REMITTANCES TO HOME OFFICES, (CASUALTY) 417 RE-INSURED, RETIRED AND FAILED COMPANIES IN 1918 418 Annual Cyclopedia of Insurance. A ABANDONMENT. In marine insurance the relinquishment of an insured ship or cargo to the underwriters when the same is damaged and the claim is for a total loss. There is no abandonment in fire underwriting. ABEILLE FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Paris, France. Starkweather & Shepley, Inc., United States managers, Providence, R. I. Geo. L. Shepley, president; Emil G. Pieper, superintendent of agencies. Transacts fire reinsurance but entered the direct writing field in 1919. ABINGTON MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Abington, Mass. Incorporated 1856; began business 1857. Isaac C. Howland, president; Edgar H. Thompson, vice-president; Alfred H. Nash, secretary and treasurer. ADJUSTER. The business of an adjuster as known in American fire insurance is to examine into losses and settle upon the amounts due. He is a regular employee of the company, usually, although there are some independent adjusters who work for any company employing them, temporarily, or on particular losses. In most cases, also, the adjuster acts as appraiser except where an official or technical appraisement is to be had. The General Adjustment Bureau was organized in 1905 to have charge of adjustments throughout the eastern district of the United States. It is an incorporated body. Similar bureaus have been organized in other sections of the country, and as a rule have been a success. The National Board of Fire Underwriters in 1912 appointed a committee on adjustments, which was charged particularly with the work of preparing a system for adjusting large conflagration losses. While there are still individual and independent adjusters much of the work of adjusting losses, except small losses, is done through the bureaus. ADJUSTMENT. In fire insurance practice in the United States this work covers the act of the adjuster in settling a loss as well as its apportionment between different insurers. The latter is sometimes difficult and puzzling in the case of non-concurrent policies. [See Non-Concurrent Policies-Apportionment.] ETNA INSURANCE COMPANY of Hartford was incorporated in 1819, and began business August 19th. Its capital stock was fixed at $150,000, 10 per cent. of which was paid in. The Ætna was |