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SEPTEMBER 12,
1925
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
"What if My Store Burns," Asks the
Retail Music Merchant
And the Answer Is Found in the Following Article by O. H. Brinkman, LL.B., of the Kansas State Bar,
Which Describes in Detail the Problem Confronting the Retail Music Merchant in Protecting Him-
self Definitely Against Losses Likely to Come to His Warerooms and Stock by Fire
T
H E answer is you may receive the in-
surance, and then again you may not!
Or you may be paid the insurance, but
only after a law suit extending over two or
three years. Whether you are paid promptly,
paid after an irksome delay, or not at all, de-
pends largely on yourself. Read that a couple
of times, Mr. Music Dealer, please.
The first step to insure insurance being paid
in case of a loss by fire is to determine, be-
fore you buy the policies, whether the com-
panies issuing them are financially sound and
not the kind that almost invariably contest
claims by taking advantage of every trivial pre-
text. Your lawyer can supply this information.
If you make written application for the in-
surance, on a form furnished by the company,
be sure your answers are correct in every de-
tail. Don't make guesses at the answers, if you
don't know, say so in writing, or leave the
space blank.
When you receive the policies, take a day
off and read them, from beginning to end. Or,
better still, have your lawyer attend to that,
and instruct him to furnish you with a brief
list of the promissory warranties you have
made and of the things required of you, Mr.
Music Dealer, by the terms of the policies.
Then comply with those warranties and re-
quirements.
Insurance That Isn't
The court dockets all over the country, both
State and Federal, are jammed and crowded
with insurance cases. One of the encyclopedias
of the law, Corpus Juris, requires 579 pages of
fine type just to abbreviate the law concerning
fire insurance. And thousands of cases prove and
emphasize the extreme importance of not re-
lying upon the insurance agent's representation
as to any matter of fact or law connected with
the insurance. The agent may be, probably is,
honest and sincere—but the music dealer should
not depend on him to know the law concerning
a matter of life and death in his business.
A dealer in a New York town, in making
written application for insurance, to replace
other policies that were expiring, failed to list
one small policy that, unlike the others, was
effective for another year. The application for
the new policies required him to list "all other
insurance." The store burned, with an actual
unquestionable loss of $35,000. The dealer suc-
ceeded in collecting the one small policy
($5,000), but the courts gave judgment against
him in his suit to collect the $20,000 of new
insurance. They said, in effect, that it didn't
make any difference whether his loss exceeded
the amount of the old and new insurance; it
was a material matter affecting the risk whether
or not he had any other insurance at all when
the new policies were issued and his misstate-
ment released the company.
Another dealer failed to disclose to the in-
surance company that a discharged and drunken
truck driver had threatened to "burn the
d—— store to the ground." The store burned,
but only as the result of a fire originating in
an adjoining building. The courts held the in-
surance company not liable.
A merchant who failed to state that there
had been a fire in the building some years be-
fore his own occupancy, but of which he knew,
lost his suit to collect fire insurance—because
his omission to give the information in response
to a question in the written application form
affected the risk assumed by the company.
The cases cited are not unusual. They are
only a few selected from many hundred similar
ones.
Little Words With Big Meanings
In cases of reasonable doubt, the general rule
of the courts is to give the benefit of it to the
insured—to construe the policy liberally in
favor of the policy holder, especially as to limi-
tations of the liability of the company.
One enterprising merchant saw a way to
make some money by putting in a stock of fire-
works for the Fourth of July. On the 30th of
June his store burned, and although the fire had
its beginning in a place remote front where the
fireworks were stored, and the rockets, pin-
wheels, Roman candles, etc., were among the
last things to be ignited, the insurance company
successfully defended a suit on the policy on
the ground that it prohibited the keeping of
explosives on the premises, and also contained
a provision that notice should be given the
company if at any time the fire hazard were in-
creased.
Another merchant found that his own polish
was highly regarded by patrons of his store.
So he bought several barrels of oil, wax and
other inflammable material, to be used in the
preparation of the polish. When a fire broke
out in the store, the dealer's first thought,
which he put into effect, was to remove the
barrels and their contents. Nevertheless, the
judges decided that he could not recover in-
surance, for when the fire risk was increased
the policies became void.
Tenants and Technicalities
Sub-tenants often cause trouble and loss for
a merchant by creating or permitting a condi-
tion increasing his insurance rate, or making
his policies altogether void. Where a tenant
of a merchant made some changes in the elec-
tric wiring, without the knowledge or consent
either of the dealer, the City Inspector, or the
insurance company, the latter was released from
liability when a fire occurred. In some States,
however, the policyholder is protected if he has
used ordinary care and diligence to prevent vio-
lations by tenants or other persons.
A. B. and C. D., partners in a business, trans-
ferred the store and stock to a corporation, in
which they together held about 95 per cent of
the stock. But the transfer, without the notice
to the insurance company, invalidated the poli-
cies, a court decided. Where one partner dis-
poses of his interest to the other, however, this
does not affect the life of fire insurance policies,
as a general rule. Mortgages or other encum-
brances must usually be reported to the insur-
ance company.
What of Your Watchman?
A large store employed a man who slept at
night in a house a short distance from the store,
visiting the building, however, several times
during the night. It was proved beyond ques-
tion of doubt that he faithfully performed his
duties the night the Emporium burned to the
ground; but the court ruled that he was not a
watchman in the sense required by the policy.
So, too, it has been decided that merely to
have a person sleep regularly on the premises
is not maintaining a "watchman" as provided
in the policy or application. The mere fact
that a watchman has fallen asleep or failed to
make the rounds the night of the fire does not
cancel the policy; but where a policy provided
that the watchman should be on the premises
"at all times," even if he left only long enough
to go for his lunch, the insurance is lost.
The carelessness of the owner himself, or
of anyone in his employ, which is directly re-
sponsible for the fire, doesn't relieve the insur-
ance company, unless, of course, there was an
intention to cause a fire. And there's one in-
teresting case of a dealer who set fire to his
store—but the company had to pay the insur-
ance because proof of the owner's insanity was
established. I personally know several mer-
chants who have had very "successful" fires
and who might aptly be described as being "as
crazy as a fox."
Even if you think you have complied with
all provisions of the policies, and the applica-
tion, it's well in case a fire occurs to submit
your policies and your proofs of loss to a
lawyer before transmitting them to the com-
pany or its adjuster. And again permit me to
suggest that you make a list now of the re-
quirements of your policies, Mr. Music Dealer.
(All rights reserved)
Webster Janssen Welcomed
Back From European Trip
Janssen Piano Co. Employes and Friends Give
Surprise Party for Traveler at Factory Last
Thursday Night
Webster Janssen, of the Janssen Piano Co.,
New York, who returned early last week from
a six weeks' European trip, was honored by a
gathering of Janssen employes in a real "Wel-
come Home" party at the Janssen factory at
133rd street and Brown place, New York, last
Thursday evening. The guest of honor also
included Elsa Janssen and Albert Strauch, who
accompanied him on his trip.
Louis Bromberg, of the Howard-Stowers Co.,
acted as master of ceremonies and staged an
interesting program which was a combination
of fun and seriousness. B. H. Janssen com-
posed a humorous poem about his son's trip
which caused much amusement and there were
several musical, comedy and dance specialties
contributed by members of the factory and
office personnel.
After the supper there were a few remarks
by Mr. Janssen on his trip, followed by dancing.
Mr. Janssen was presented with a testimonial.
Buy La Selle Music Go.
RICHMOND, CAL., September 7.—S. H. Peterson
and H. D. Curry, Oakland musicians, have just
purchased the business of the La Selle Music
Co., at 913 Macdonald avenue, from E. P. La
Selle, who has operated the store here for the
past ten years. The new proprietors will han-
dle a complete line of Conn band instruments,
the Magnavox radio and the Sonora phono-
graph line.
Firestone in Real Estate
Fred Firestone, the well-known piano man,
of Chicago, after twenty-five years in the music
trade is now located in Daytona, Fla., where
he has been engaged in the real estate business
with the George A. Rubin Realty Co., that city.