Insurance. interest of the mortgagor, and any act of his which will render the policy void will have the same effect as against the mortgagee. Notices of ABANDONMENT and PROTESTS relating to marine losses form the subject of separate chapters. Fire policies usually contain a condition requiring in substance that persons sustaining loss or damage by fire shall forthwith give written notice thereof to the company, and as soon after as possible deliver as particular an account of their loss and damage as the nature of the case will admit, signed with their own hands; and accompany the same with their oath or affirmation, declaring the account to be true and just; showing, also, the ownership of the property insured; what other insurance, if any, existed on the same property, and giving a copy of the written portion of the policy of each company; what was the whole cash value of the subject insured; what was their interest therein; in what manner (as to trade, manufactory, merchandise, or otherwise) the building insured, or containing the subject insured, and the several parts thereof, were occupied at the time of the loss; who were the occupants of such building; and when and how the fire originated, so far as they know or believe. And also produce a certificate, under the hand and seal of a magistrate, or notary public, most contiguous to the place of the fire, and not concerned in the loss as a creditor or otherwise, or related to the insured or sufferers, stating that he has examined the circumstances attending the fire, loss, or damage alleged; and that he is acquainted with the character and circumstances of the insured, and that he verily believes that they have, by misfortune, and without fraud or evil practice, sustained.loss and damage on the subject insured, to the amount which such magistrate or notary public shall certify. The condition that notice of loss be given "forthwith," is satisfied by due and reasonable diligence. Notice on the same day is not absolutely necessary. The condition that the insured shall deliver a particular account of loss, etc., is to be construed as requiring only as full and accurate an inventory and statement as the party, free from fraud or fault, is able to furnish. Where all his means for making an accurate statement and inventory are consumed with the merchandise insured, a statement, verified by oath, showing this fact, and that the property covered by the policy and destroyed was at least of the value of a sum named, is a sufficient compliance with the condition. Nor does the fact that he afterwards attempted, at the request of the company, to make a more particular statement from recollection and estimate, tend to invalidate the truth of the statement. If, when the preliminary proofs are presented, the insurer does not object to their sufficiency, but places a refusal to pay the loss, specifically on some other ground, it is an admission of their sufficiency, or a waiver of proof. Good faith on the part of the insurers requires that if they mean to insist upon a merely formal defect in the preliminary proofs, they should apprise the insured of the nature of the objection, so as to give him an opportunity of supplying the defect. My by policy No. situated on street, in origin of the fire insured by your company was injured [or, destroyed] by fire this morning. The [or, is to me unknown]. Full proofs of the loss will be duly forwarded to you, as soon as they are prepared. [Signature.] [Date.] day of , Be it known, that on this A. D. 18 before me [here insert name and title of magistrate] duly commissioned and sworn, and residing in the town [or, city] of in the county and State aforesaid, personally appeared [name of insured or assignees] (a) who being duly sworn, depose and say, and each for himself says, that the following statement and the papers therein referred to and signed with his [or, their] own hand contains a particular, just and true account of his [or, their] loss in the words and figures following-to wit: of I. That on the day of by their policy of insurance, numbered by M. N., their agent] at Insurance Company issued by them [or, did insure the party herein and therein named against loss or damage by fire to the amount of [here give the written portion of the policy in full] for the term of from the day of A. D. 18 to the A. D. 18 at noon]. day of A. D. 18 at noon [which said policy was subsequently continued in force by renewal, until the day of II. That in addition to the amount covered by said policy of said company, there was no other insurance thereon [or, if any, say, there was other insurance made thereon to the amount of dollars, as specified in the accompanying schedule(b), showing the name of each company, and the written portions of each policy, besides which there was no other insurance thereon]. III. That the actual cash value of the property so insured amounted to the sum of dollars [if the loss is on buildings, give their value, exclusive of land, cellar and foundations] at the time immediately preceding the fire, as will appear by the annexed schedule, showing a full and accurate description of each kind of property, and the value of the same, with the damage or loss on each stated separately. IV. That the property insured belonged to [if real estate, state whether it is owned in fee-simple or held on lease. If the property be held in trust or on commission, state in the schedule the names of the owners, marks and numbers, and the insurance, if any, by the owners or consignees]. V. That the building insured, or containing the property destroyed or damaged, was occupied in its several parts by the parties hereinafter named, and for the following purposes-to wit [designating them], and for no other purposes whatever. (a) One holding the policy as assignee, with consent of the insurer, is the proper person to give notice of loss, under the clause requiring notice of the loss from persons insured. Cornell v. Le Roy, 9 Wend., 163. (b) If there be any additional insurance, annex a schedule of it, giving the name of each company, the date and term of policy, the rate of premium, and the entire written portion of each policy. Insurance. VI. That on the day of A. D. 18 a fire occurred by which the property insured was injured or destroyed to the amount of dollars, as set forth in the statement, and the several schedules and papers hereunto annexed, which the deponent declares to be a just, true and faithful account of his [or, their] loss as far as he has [or, they have] been able to ascertain the same. And the insured claim of the as follows: on on Insurance Company, the sum of [etc., making the subdivisions of the amount claimed to correspond with the subdivisions of the policy.] Total amount claimed. VII. That the fire originated [here state all you know about the origin of the fire]. And the said deponent further declares that the said fire did not originate by any act, design or procurement on his [or, their] part, or in consequence of any fraud or evil practice done or suffered by him [or, them], and that nothing has been done by or with his [or, their] privity or consent to violate the conditions of insurance, or render void the policy aforesaid. WITNESS my hand [or, our hands], at in the county of and [Signature.] most con I [here insert name and title of magistrate], residing in tiguous to the property hereinbefore described, (c) hereby certify that I am not concerned in the loss or claim above set forth; either as a creditor or otherwise, or related to the insured or sufferers(d); that I have examined the circumstances attending the fire, or damage as alleged; and that I am well acquainted with the character and circumstances of the insured, and do verily believe that he has [or, they have], by misfortune, and without fraud or evil practice, sustained loss and damage on the property insured to the amount of dollars. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and [official] seal, this day of A. D. 18 [Signature, title and seal.] (c) The office of the magistrate, rather than his dwelling, may be considered as determining his contiguity; and a certificate of a magistrate is sufficient, though a notary lives a few feet nearer to the place of the fire. Turley v. North American Fire Ins. Co., 25 Wend., 374. (d) The certificate of the magistrate as to the loss, stating that he was not interested, etc., is prima-facie evidence of the fact. Slight evidence that he was the nearest justice suffices. Cornell v. Lo Roy, 9 Wend., 168. Rules for the Computation of Interest. 990. Schedule of Property, and Appraisal. THE UNDERSIGNED hereby certify that the annexed is a schedule of the property of at of damaged by on the day of A. D. 18 day , the damage on which was fixed by the undersigned on the Computation. When interest is to be computed by months, a month is to be taken to be one-twelfth of a year; and the first table given below is appropriate for computing the interest in such cases. But when interest is expressed to be computable by days, each day is regarded as the 365th part of a year, and in such cases the second table is the appropriate one. In commercial affairs, the calculation of interest on cents is not generally practised, the usage being to increase the number of dollars by one, when there are fifty or more cents, and to disregard the cents when there are less than fifty. Partial Payments.-The rule for casting interest when partial payments have been made, is to apply the payment, in the first place, to the discharge of the interest then due. If the payment exceeds the interest, the surplus goes towards discharging the principal, and the subsequent interest is to be computed on the balance of principal remaining due. If the payment is less than the interest, the surplus of interest must not be taken to augment the principal; but interest continues on the former principal until the period when the payments, taken together, exceed the interest due, and then the surplus is to be applied towards discharging the principal, and interest is to be computed on the balance. Compound interest, or interest calculated upon unpaid interest, is not in general collectable, unless there is an express agreement made after the interest has become due, that it shall bear interest. 32 Tables for Computing Interest. 991. Table, Showing the Interest on Sums from $10 to $5,000, for Fifteen Days, One Month, and for One Year, at Six and at Seven per cent. 15 DAYS. 1 MONTH. 1 YEAR. 0.06 6 per ct. 7 per ct. 200.. 12.00.. 14.00 6 per ct. 7 per ct. $10...$0.03....$0.03 20... 0.05. 30... 0.08.... 0.09 40... 0.10.... 0.12 50... 0.13.... 0.15 60... 0.15.... 0.18 70... 0.18.. 0.20 80... 0.20. 0.23 90... 0.23.... 0.26 100... 0.25.... 0.30 200... 0.50.... 0.58 300... 0.75.... 0.87 400... 1.00... 1.17 500... 1.25. ... 1.18 1.75 300.. 18.00.... 21.00 2.33 400.. 24.00.... 28.00 2.92 500.. 30.00.. 35.00 1,000. 2.50.... 2.91 1,000... 5.00. 5.83 1,000.. 60.00.... 70.00 2,000... 5.00. 5.83 2,000...10.00. .11.67 2,000..120.00....140.00 3,000... 7.50.... 8.75 3,000...15.00. .17.50 3,000..180.00....210.00 4,000...10.00....11.66 4,000...20.00....23.334,000..240.00....280.00 5,000...12.50. ...14.58 5,000...25.00....29.17 5,000..300.00....350.00 ... 992. Table, Showing the Interest per Day, on Sums from $100 to $20,000 at Six and Seven per Cent. |