What is fire insurance?
Fire Insurance, insurance obtained by owners of homes and commercial properties to provide reimbursement in case of losses resulting from fire. Such insurance is supplied in exchange for the payment of a premium. The five types of insurers who write policies are stock companies, mutual companies, reciprocal exchanges, Lloyd’s organizations, and advance premium cooperatives (see Insurance). Most of the fire insurance in the U.S. is underwritten by stock companies. Some business firms, however, are self-insurers; that is, they set aside funds to be used exclusively for indemnifying losses resulting from fire.(1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation-Encarta-’97) Insurance Policies The basic fire-insurance policy covers losses resulting directly from damage or destruction by fire or lightning. In the early 1900s, insurance companies in the U.S. first offered, for an additional premium, to extend the coverage of fire-insurance policies to other perils by the use of an endorsement on the policy. By
