Commercial Fire Insurance Ratemaking Procedures, [Discussion]

Mr. Hurley’s paper fills a major void in the educational material available in our Proceedings on the subject of basic ratemaking techniques. The latest general treatment of fire insurance rate revision procedures appeared sixteen years ago. A comparison of the methods described by Hurley in 1973 with those set forth by Magrath in 19.58 reveals the obvious improvements made over that period. Nevertheless, the student who studies Mr. Hurley’s paper after rending Stern on automobile insurance or Lange on general liability cannot escape the feeling that actuarial methods in fire insurance are rudimentary, indeed. It is scarcely an exaggeration to describe the field as unexplored, virgin wilderness.