The Insurance Company That Refused to Pay
After his steamboat, the Wildwood, burned at the dock in Olympia, Thomas Quail publicly denounced the insurance companies that refused to settle his claim.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
To whom it may concern: Having purchased the steamer Wildwood, I immediately had her overhauled and rebuilt at a total cost of $13,000. I had her insured for $7,000, divided among several companies. On the night of July 21st, while lying at the wharf at Olympia, she took fire and burned to the water’s edge. The adjusters of the Phoenix and Commercial companies examined the remains of the steamer and allowed me the full amount of my policies. Since that time, I have made every effort to get a settlement with the Merchants of Newark, N.J., and the Springfield of Massachusetts, but they flatly refuse to do anything. I had a representative call on Jacobs & Braley, general agents of those companies, to see what could be done, and he telegraphed me that they refused to move in the matter and that I had better commence suit. I publish this card in justice to the Phoenix of Hartford and the Commercial of San Francisco, which are honest, straightforward insurance companies, and also to warn my friends on this coast, and the public generally, against the Merchants of Newark, N.J., and Springfield of Massachusetts. Companies that will delay, hinder and swindle one policy holder will do the same thing to others. Before paying money for insurance be sure you are getting into a good company which will do as it agrees in case you meet with loss.
“Companies that will delay, hinder and swindle one policy holder will do the same thing to others.”
A century and a half later, the struggle to get insurance companies to pay out legitimate disaster claims remains a persistent headache for business owners, echoing the same frustration Quail felt in 1885 regarding corporate accountability.
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