HOME NEW YORK: Authentic Insurance Company Tin Fire Mark- SIGN/MARKER BU #231

Description

HOME INSURANCE COMPANY
The Home Insurance Company was founded in 1853 by a group of New York merchants. In 1853, insurance was quite different than it is today. Property owners purchased insurance to hedge the risk of loss. Claims were only expected to cover the value of the lost property, and sometimes covered less. Few types of insurance were available, and insurance companies were generally limited in the types of coverage they offered. Many merchants couldn't getting enough protection for their property. To address this problem, a group of New York City merchants got together and founded The Home Insurance Company. One of Home's most significant contributions to the insurance industry was the popularization of the insurance agency system.
This is an authentic fire mark from Home Insurance Company of New York, which is made of tinned sheet iron and measures 8 3/16" X 5 3/16". It has a black painted surface with gold raised letters and border. This mark is listed in the  Addendum to "Footprint of Assurance" (the Authoritative Source for Fire Marks) as # BU 231. The mark was issue around 1861. It is in very good condition for it's age with limited rusting on backside from exposure to the elements on the right edge. There are four mounting holes on the top, bottom and each side  for securing it to the building.
This would make an excellent addition for any collector of insurance company memorabilia, or a insurance agent/broker, or a company employee or retiree.
American insurance company's fire marks were placed on the exterior of a house and were intended to discourage malicious arson by showing that the owner would not greatly suffer if the building were destroyed. Additionally, the mark stood as a guarantee to fire brigades that the insurance company which insured the house in question would reward handsomely the brigade extinguishing a blaze on the premises.
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