Chapter 285. To incorporate the Mutual Investment Fire Insurance Company of the District of Columbia
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CHAP. 285.— An Act To incorporate the Mutual Investment Fire Insurance Company of the District of Columbia. January 28, 1905.[[H. R. 2871](/us/bill/34/hr/2871).][[Public, No. 31](/us/pl/34/31).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, District of Columbia.Mutual Investment Fire Insurance Company incorporated.Incorporators. That Richard J. Beal I. Andrew Ö. Nash, am O. Denison, R. O'Neill, Bernard Leonard, Howard Beall, and John K.
Wright, all of the District of Columbia, with their associates and successors, are hereby created a body politic and corporate by the name and style of the “Mutual Investment Fire Insur-623ance Company of the District of Columbia,” and by that name shall have perpetual succession, with power to sue and be sued, plead andPowers. be impleaded, in courts of law and equity; to adopt a common seal, and the same to break, alter, and renew at pleasure; to ordain and establish by-laws and regulations; and generally to do such acts and things as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this charter and promote the purposes and designs of said company.
Sec. 2. That the purposes and designs of said company shall be toPurposes. insure, against loss or damage by fire, the respective dwelling houses and other buildings, and the furniture and every description of property belonging to its members. Sec. 3. That the assets of said company shall consist of the premiumAssets. notes given by the insured, the cash paid as interest thereon, and all property and profit derived from the investment or use of its income or assets, but the reserve fund of said company shall not, at any oneMaximum reserve fund. time, exceed two hundred thousand dollars, exclusive of the real estate it may hold as hereinafter authorized.
Sec. 4. That the said premium notes shall be payable on demand,Premium notes to constitute liens. and shall each constitute and be a lien to the amount thereof respectively upon the interest and estate, legal and équitable, of the insured in the said buildings at risk, in said company, and upon the land, premises. and appurtenances thereto belonging: *Provided,* That the lien*Provisos.*Life of lien upon personal property.Filing memorandums. upon personal property shall continue only while the same remains in the ownership of the person insured: *And provided also,* That said company shall tile with the recorder of deeds for the District, of Columbia a mémorandum of the name of the person insured, a description of the property, and the amount of the premium note unpaid, and said lien shall commence from the time of tiling said memorandum.
JudgmentJudgments. upon said note may be entered upon confession by virtue of a warrant of attorney, and execution may at any time be had thereon; but the privileges, immunities, and franchises granted by this charter shall be confined to the District of Columbia. Sec. 5. That all persons who shall hereafter insure with said company,Membership. and their executors, administrators, and assigns continuing to be so insured, shall thereby become members thereof during the period they shall be and remain so insured, and no longer, and the word “person” as used in this charter shall be held to include corporations also.
Sec. 6. That each and every member of said company shall haveWithdrawal from membership. full power to withdraw therefrom, in whole or in part, at any time, upon application in writing to the proper officer thereof, and payment of all arrearages of assessments and interest that may then be due and owing to said company from said member. Upon such application,Cancellation of insurance. the said officer shall cancel the insurance or insurances designated in said application, together with the premium note or notes held by said company on account of said canceled insurance.
Said officer shall alsoReturn of moneys due. return any amount of money which may be due said member on the books of said company on account of said canceled insurance, and there-after said member shall be debarred from all claim on said company on account of such canceled insurance accruing subsequent to such withdrawal and cancellation. But no premium note or notes shall be canceled,Payment of assessments. or in any manner discharged or given up until all assessments thereon on account of liabilities incurred before or at the time of such withdrawal shall be fully ascertained and paid.
Sec. 7. That the affairs of said company shall be conducted by aBoard of trustees. board of seven trustees, who shall be elected at the annual meeting of the members, and shall continue in office until their successors are elected and qualified. Not less than a majority of said board shallQuorum. constitute a quorum to do business, but a less number may adjourn from time to time. Vacancies happening in said board, otherwise thanVacancies. 624by removal, as hereinafter provided, may be filled by the remaining Selection of officers.trustees for the residue of the term for which they were elected.
Said board shall choose one of their number as president and one as vice-president; and they shall also appoint such other officers as may be necessary for conducting the affairs of said company. Sec. 8. Annual meeting.That the seven persons first named in tills charter shall be the, board of trustees of said company until the first annual meeting,Election of officers. and until their successors are chosen and qualified. Such of them as may be present at their first meeting may proceed to organize by By laws, etc.electing a president, vice-president, and other officers: and as soon thereafter as practicable said board shall adopt by-laws, provide the necessary books, and otherwise prepare the company for the transaction of business, and thereafter said board shall exercise a general *Proviso*.Adoption of by-laws.superintendence of the affairs of the company: *Provided,* That the said by-laws shall only be adopted by the concurrent vote of at least Amendments.two-thirds of the whole hoard of trustees, and when once adopted any alteration or amendment shall only be made at an annual meeting of Notice.the company, notice of such proposed alteration or amendment having been filed in the office of the company at least thirty days before the day fixed for said annual meeting.
A majority of two-thirds of the votes east shall be necessary to the adoption of any such alteration or amendment, but when thus adopted the same shall be binding on all the members of the company. Sec. 9. Rates of insurance, etc.That the board of trustees shall, by general rules, determine the rates of insurance, the sum to be insured, and the rate of interest to be paid upon the premium notes, which latter, however, shall not Risk limits.exceed three per centum per annum. No more than five thousand dollars shall be insured on any one risk, unless the premium notes shall amount to over one hundred thousand dollars; and in that case no one risk shall exceed five per centum on the whole amount of premium notes.
Sec. 10. Deposit of promissory notes.That every person who shall become a member of said company by effecting insurance therein shall deposit his promissory note, payable, on demand, for such sum, and upon such interest, not exceeding three per centum per annum, as may be required under the Notes liable to pro rata assessments.general rules prescribed by the board of trustees; and said notes shall be liable to assessment pro rata at any time when the trustees shall deem the same requisite for the payment of losses or the current expenses of the company; and no policy shall bind the company until such note has been given.
Sec. 11. Payment of losses, etc.That whenever the board of trustees, for the purposes of paying the losses or current expenses, shall deem it necessary to call for the payment of any portion of the principal of the premium notes, they shall settle and determine the sum to be paid by the several members (but always in proportion to the original amount of the respective Notice.Failure to pay assessments.premium notes). Notices of such call shall be given to the members in such manner as the by-laws shall prescribe; and if any member shall neglect or refuse to pay the sum assessed upon said member for the space of thirty days after receiving such notice, the company may proceed to collect the whole amount of such premium note, together with costs; and the amount of the note, less the expense of collecting the same, shall he placed in the treasury of the company, subject to the same liabilities as said note would have been subject to.
Losses, etc., not to be paid exclusively from assessments.But nothing in this charter contained shall be construed as requiring losses and expenses to be paid exclusively from assessments on premium notes, but they may be paid out of such assets as the board of trustees shall, by general rules, prescribe. Sec. 12. Claims of loss, etc., by fire.That all just and lawful claims of members for loss or dam-age sustained by fire shall be certified in accordance with the terms of the policy within sixty days after due notice of the loss has been tiled 625with the company.
No suit shall be brought upon any such claim for damages until after the expiration of said sixty days, and no member of the company shall be incompetent as a witness in such suit on account of his said membership. Sec. 13. That a general meeting of said company shall be heldMeetings. annually at such time and place as shall be designated in the by-laws. The president may. at any time, call a special meeting of the company, and shall do so at the request in writing of fifty members.
TheElection of trustees. election of trustees shall be held at the annual meeting, and shall be by ballot, and each member shall have one vote on each risk, which must be deposited by the policy holder. At least two weeks’ previousPublication of notice. notice of each annual or special meeting shall be given by publication in two newspapers of general circulation in the city of Washington: *Provided,* That at any called meeting of the company the trustees, or*Proviso*.Removal of trustees. any of them, may be removed by a vote of three-fourths of the members present and voting, and the vacancies thus created may be filledVacancies. at such meeting for the unexpired term; but notice of such proposed action shall be given in the call for the meeting.
Sec. 14. That the board of trustees of said company shall cause toPublication of Financial statement. be published annually, in some newspaper of general circulation in the city of Washington, and at least two weeks prior to the annual meeting of the members, a statement of its financial condition, in which shall be shown the amount of premium notes and cash on hand, the amount of securities held by the company, the amount of losses, if any. during the previous year, and such other items relating to the business of the company as said board may think proper.
Sec. 15. That nothing in this charter shall be construed to grantRanking privileges not granted. banking privileges or the right to issue any note to circulate as currency or money. It shall, however, be lawful for said company toInvestment of funds. employ and improve all moneys received by it and the profits thereon in such manner us the trustees may deem best for the interest of the company: but the said company shall not purchase and hold realReal estate holdings limited. estate, at any one time, in excess of a cash value of fifty thousand dollars; *Provided,* That this shall not include any purchase to protect the*Proviso.*Purchases under trusts, etc., not included. interests of the company at sales under trusts, mortgages, judgments, or decrees.
Sec. 16. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is herebyAmendment. expressly reserved. Approved, January 28, 1905.