Baltimore Equitable Insurance, until 2003 was located at the original headquarters of the Eutaw Savings Bank, is a historic bank building located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Originally built as the headquarters for the Eutaw Savings Bank,[2] it is a two-story building with brownstone front and brick sides. It was constructed in 1857 in the Italian Renaissance style.[3] The Eutaw Savings Bank moved across the street in 1887 to what is now the Baltimore Grand and the building was acquired by the Baltimore Equitable Society in 1889.[2] Founded in 1794, the Baltimore Equitable Society is one of the oldest corporations in the city and the third-oldest fire insurance company in the United States.[2][4][5]
The building that housed Baltimore Equitable Insurance was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[1] The building is currently occupied by a restaurant. In 2003, due to the age and state of disrepair of the building, Baltimore Equitable Insurance left the building.[citation needed]
Fire mark
This a photo of the Baltimore Equitable Insurance firemark.
The Sign of the Clasped Hands, frequently seen on the exterior of houses in the region, means that the home is (or was) insured by the Baltimore Equitable Society (Baltimore Equitable Insurance). The Society chose the clasped hands, depicting the hand of the company and the hand of the policy holder shaking, to symbolize the agreement by both parties to the contract of insurance. Called a “fire mark,” this sign of coverage was once just as important as the paper policy document. The society still gives the fire mark to any person insured with Baltimore Equitable who wishes to receive it. It is numbered and painted in the traditional black with gold leaf.[citation needed]
History
Baltimore Equitable Insurance Logo
On January 21, 1794, a number of respectable citizens assembled to establish a fire insurance company similar to that created in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin. This meeting gave rise to the birth of the Baltimore Equitable Society.
By February 10, 1794, a constitution had been drawn to govern the new company, the Baltimore Equitable Society for Insuring of Houses From Loss By Fire. Policy Number 1 was issued on April 10, 1794 to Humphrey Pierce on his three-story brick house on Baltimore Street. By December 27 of its first year of operation, the Society was incorporated, making it older than Baltimore City itself, which was not incorporated until three years later.
At the conclusion of the Society's first year of business, 104 policies had been written for a total coverage of $129,016. Expenses for the first year of Society business equaled $300.69 including salaries and rent. Detailed accounts were kept, noting charges of $1.33 for a pewter ink stand and $.50 for 50 quills.
Nearly two years after incorporation, on December 4, 1796, the Society sustained its first loss from fire when William Hawkins' two brick houses at Light and Baltimore Streets (now the site of the Nations Bank Building) were destroyed. The blaze consumed a number of other businesses, homes and a church in what amounted to the city's "Great Fire" to that date. With this first loss, began the Society's tradition of prompt and full payment to the policyholder.
Baltimore Equitable insured the property of a number of the city's prominent citizens. In 1803, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, insured four brick buildings on the north side of King George Street (now Lombard) between Stillhouse Street (now Front) and Jones' Falls. In 1838, Homewood the home of Charles Carroll Jr. now on the Johns Hopkins University campus, was first insured. When the owner cancelled this policy in 1866, the Society refunded the entire original payment. Then in 1903, when Johns Hopkins University acquired the mansion, the university insured it again.
The Society was an eyewitness to the tumultuous times which the nineteenth century presented to the nation. In 1814, the British burned Washington and turned toward Baltimore where they intended to do the same. Francis Scott Key watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry from the harbor where he penned the poem which became our national anthem. Six months after the British forces were defeated at the Battle of Baltimore and the city had been spared the destruction it had feared, the Society expressed its relief. The minutes recorded at its annual meeting on April 3, 1815, noted, "Peace and the restoration of tranquility...(leave) the board the opportunity and satisfaction to record... that there was no loss sustained." Had the British been successful in their land and sea attacks on Baltimore, the minutes would have told of a very different outcome.
While the 1860s saw life in Baltimore altered, the period also brought change to the Baltimore Equitable Society. On March 13, 1865, the members present at a general meeting voted to issue perpetual policies. By this point in its history, through judicious investments and careful management, the Society had accumulated a surplus sufficient to enable it to write policies for an indefinite period. The first of these policies was issued to William Clagett on his dwelling at 157 Lombard Street near Canal Street. On March 20, another perpetual policy was issued to cover "Mondawmin," the home of Isabella Brown, widow of George Brown. George was the son of Alexander Brown, founder of Alex. Brown & Sons, the city's oldest banking house. The home, originally a summer home and later the year-round residence, was located where Mondawmin Shopping Center now stands.
The turn of the century was a time of progress and good fortune for the Society until disaster struck the city in 1904. On February 7, a wholesale dry goods house in the heart of Baltimore's business district caught fire, igniting the Great Baltimore Fire. One hundred fifty acres, including all of the original town laid out in 1730, were destroyed along with 2,500 business establishments. Miraculously, no lives were lost, but total damages reached $150 million. The Great Baltimore Fire affected 455 Baltimore Equitable policyholders and although the Society incurred losses of nearly $2 million, all policy holders were promptly paid in full.
Following the disaster of the 1904 fire, financial calamity hit the nation. From 1929 to 1939, the Great Depression took a heavy toll on the country. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president to lead the nation to economic recovery. During this period, fortunes were lost, companies were ruined and millions of workers were unemployed. Nevertheless, Baltimore Equitable continued to be successful. None of its surplus fund was used to pay operating expenses, and investments remained secure. In fact, assets increased by 23%. It was during this period of economic struggle that the Society created its Fire Museum, that was housed in its offices on Eutaw Street and has recently been closed.
The years from 1941 to 1945 saw thousands of Baltimoreans called to military duty in Europe and the Pacific Theater during World War II. Those service men and women who were insured by the Society went to war without the worry of annual premiums, knowing their families would be taken care of with prompt and personal claims service in the event of a loss.
The urban unrest in 1968 changed the way some insurance companies wrote policies. As a result of the fire damage caused by the riots, some insurers refused to cover properties within the city lines. Yet Baltimore Equitable continued to write policies on homes which met underwriting requirements without regard to the invisible "red line" which was said to surround the city.[citation needed]
Today
Throughout the 1980s, Baltimore Equitable's success continued. A.M. Best Company, which evaluates the financial stability of insurance companies, has rated Baltimore Equitable Society A - Excellent.[citation needed]
Related Research Articles
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of an insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness can also trigger payment. The policy holder typically pays a premium, either regularly or as one lump sum. The benefits may include other expenses, such as funeral expenses.
In an insurance policy, the deductible is the amount paid out of pocket by the policy holder before an insurance provider will pay any expenses. In general usage, the term deductible may be used to describe one of several types of clauses that are used by insurance companies as a threshold for policy payments.
A savings and loan association (S&L), or thrift institution, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans. The terms "S&L" or "thrift" are mainly used in the United States; similar institutions in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries include building societies and trustee savings banks. They are often mutually held, meaning that the depositors and borrowers are members with voting rights, and have the ability to direct the financial and managerial goals of the organization like the members of a credit union or the policyholders of a mutual insurance company. While it is possible for an S&L to be a joint-stock company, and even publicly traded, in such instances it is no longer truly a mutual association, and depositors and borrowers no longer have membership rights and managerial control. By law, thrifts can have no more than 20percent of their lending in commercial loans—their focus on mortgage and consumer loans makes them particularly vulnerable to housing downturns such as the deep one the U.S. experienced in 2007.
A mutual organization, or mutual society is an organization based on the principle of mutuality and governed by private law. Unlike a true cooperative, members usually do not contribute to the capital of the company by direct investment, but derive their right to profits and votes through their customer relationship. A mutual organization or society is often simply referred to as a mutual.
The Equitable Life Assurance Society, founded in 1762, is a life insurance company in the United Kingdom. The world's oldest mutual insurer, it pioneered age-based premiums based on mortality rate, laying "the framework for scientific insurance practice and development" and "the basis of modern life assurance upon which all life assurance schemes were subsequently based". After closing to new business in 2000, parts of the business were sold off and the remainder of the company became a subsidiary of Utmost Life and Pensions in January 2020.
Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, or boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main ways—open perils and named perils.
Bolton Hill is a neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, with 20 blocks of mostly preserved buildings from the late 19th century. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, preserved as a Baltimore City Historic District, and included within the boundaries of Baltimore National Heritage Area. The neighborhood is bounded by North Avenue, Mount Royal Avenue, Cathedral Street, Dolphin Street, and Eutaw Place. Bolton Hill is a largely residential neighborhood with three-story row houses with red brick, white marble steps, and high ceilings. There are also larger more ornate originally single-family houses, many houses of worship, parks, monuments, and a few large apartment buildings. Many significant residents have lived in the neighborhood, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Woodrow Wilson, the Cone sisters, and Florence Rena Sabin.
Fire insurance marks are metal plaques marked with the emblem of the insurance company which were affixed to the front of insured buildings as a guide to the insurance company's fire brigade. These identification marks were used in the eighteenth and nineteenth century in the days before municipal fire services were formed. The UK marks are called 'Fire insurance plaques'.
A fidelity bond is a form of insurance protection that covers policyholders for losses that they incur as a result of fraudulent acts by specified individuals. It usually insures a business for losses caused by the dishonest acts of its employees.
A reciprocal inter-insurance exchange or simply a reciprocal is an unincorporated association in which subscribers exchange insurance policies to pool and spread risk. For consumers, reciprocal exchanges often offer similar policies to those offered by a stock company or a mutual insurance company. Large reciprocal exchanges in the United States include USAA, Farmers, and Erie.
A public adjuster is a professional claims handler/claims adjuster who advocates for the insured/policyholder in assisting and negotiating that insured's insurance claim. Aside from attorneys and the broker of record, state licensed public adjusters are also legal representatives, professionals who are entrusted by governments as a lawful fiduciary and who are made available to consumers under either state or federal jurisdiction to legally and professionally represent the rights of an insured/policyholder during a business commercial, farm, or homeowner insurance claim process, and sometimes personal injury. Their technical knowledge or expertise and ability to interpret sometimes ambiguous insurance policies allow property owners to recover the best possible indemnification for their claims. Although seen many times as adversarial and even treated as hostile by the insurance companies/Carriers who dismiss them as illegitimate non-professionals, public adjusters may be than insurance companies'/Carriers' claims representatives and/or adjusters and may substantially increase the settlement value of the loss if the insurance company has been incompetent or has unethically "low-balled" in an attempt to reach an unfair settlement. Individuals may prefer to avoid the stress of claims handling themselves, and choose public adjuster representation to guide them through the process and minimize the time which must be spent to file their claim properly. Public adjusting is most beneficial and largely used before a claim adjustment becomes a disputed impasse between a insurance company/Carrier and an insured/policyholder. Public adjusters negotiate with insurance companies/Carriers for an adjustment or settlement. Primarily, public adjusters review your insurance policy to determine the greatest coverage for the loss, assess the cause of loss which will trigger coverage, prepare detailed scope and cost estimates many times using experts in the fields of remediation, toxicology, and construction contractors, engineers, and lawyers to prove your loss. Public adjusters also provide insurance policy interpretation to determine covered and uncovered items and to negotiate with the insurance company/Carrier to a final and fair settlement. Most public adjusters charge a percentage of the settlement.
The history of insurance traces the development of the modern business of insurance against risks, especially regarding cargo, property, death, automobile accidents, and medical treatment.
The William Donald Schaefer Building is the fourth-tallest building in the City of Baltimore, Maryland, located at 6 St. Paul Street. Originally completed by Merritt Savings and Loan in 1986 and later re-opened under state management in 1992, the building rises 37 floors and 493 feet (150 m) in height. Office space constitutes the lower 29 floors, housing more than 1,100 employees in 14 state agencies. The nine upper floors are unoccupied, containing a maintenance area, cement staircase, a ladder to the rooftop deck and then an eight-floor spiral staircase leading to the top of the spire and the flagpole.
The Hippodrome Theatre is a theater in Baltimore, Maryland.
Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited is an Indian general insurance company and a joint venture between the Tata Group and American International Group (AIG). Tata Group holds a 74 percent stake in the insurance venture with AIG holding the balance of 26 percent.
Baltimore Grand is a historic bank building located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It occupies two historic bank buildings, the former Western National Bank and the former Eutaw Savings Bank, which were connected in 1989 and adaptively reused to create a commercial catering and banquet facility. It features a large arched window above the entrance portico that is framed by paired fluted pilasters with Corinthian capitals extending to the cornice line.
Charles L. Carson, was an architect born in Baltimore, the oldest son of Daniel Carson, a builder, and one of the founders of the Baltimore chapter of AIA. Carson had little formal training as an architect. Around 1870 he partnered with Thomas Dixon (architect) while taking drawing lessons at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Carson and Dixon worked from their offices at 117 Baltimore Street as Thomas Dixon and Charles L. Carson until sometime before 1877 when the partnership was dissolved. In 1888 he hired Joseph Evans Sperry who became his chief assistant, and later his partner and successor.
ManhattanLife began as The Manhattan Life Insurance Company, a life insurance company domiciled in New York. It operates as a subsidiary of Manhattan Life Group in Houston, Texas. ManhattanLife is the brand name for plans, products, and services provided by one or more of the subsidiaries and affiliate companies of Manhattan Life Group Inc.
The International Life Assurance Society was a 19th-century British insurance company. Its operations in the United States, particularly in the state of Massachusetts, caused it to play a major role in the development of insurance regulation in that country.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
