Today one is accustomed to paying several hundred dollars a year for automobile insurance. Today one recognizes the need for liability limits of $100,00 or more. Today one is aware the purchase of a new and more expensive auto will mean an increase in ones insurance costs and to top it off there is the added premium for a teen age son as a principle driver. Ahh… for the good ol days of yesteryear.
If one lived in Brighton as Walter W. Knapp did in 1919 and owned an Olds as he did. And wished to insure against liability for injury to others or damage to their property and also to insure the Olds against loss or damage by fire or theft, this could all have been done for annual premium of $7.50. How does that compare with premiums paid today?
Knapps 1918 Olds had an engine of 26 horsepower (premium was 25 cents/ h.p. plus a $1.00 policy fee. This policy limited one to $5000.00 coverage for bodily injury and property damage, with fire and theft coverage of $1000.00. There was also a $25.00 deduction for any amounts paid. Wally Knapp and his wife, Amelia (nee Loch) lived in Brighton on West Main Street between Second and Third, until the mid 1950s (The residence, built over 100 years ago, is now occupied as doctors offices.) Wally also had to be prepared to pay an assessment if losses paid by the insurance company exceeded the premiums collected, as this was a mutual association of auto-owning individuals and all members agreed to being assessed in the event of deficit operations of the company.
Wally Knapp could have purchased collision insurance for $6.00 to protect up to $400.00; for $10.00 he could have coverage to an $800.00 limit. His insurance coverage would have been limited to damage only “… if caused by collision with another automobile, vehicle or moving object…” or if ” … by being driven off the road to avoid a collision with another automobile, vehicle or moving object…” So if he hit the ditch to avoid a cow in the road, hed be covered – if he hit a tree because he paid too little attention to his driving and too much to the lovely lady riding beside him, then it would be to no avail to call his friendly insurance agent.
“In case any owner or driver is drunk or intoxicated, or in a racing contest … thereby causing an accident … the company shall not be liable for any claim of damages…” So read a standard provision in your 1919 insurance policy. Other no-nos included the cancellation of your policy if you moved to Detroit or Grand Rapids or out of Michigan. (Based on an insurance policy issued by the Citizens Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., dated 26th of April, 1919.)
There were a number of automobile operation no-nos not related to insurance coverage; Never have your thumb on the same side of the crank as your fingers, (a kick-back could dislocate it); dont go for a drive without your ankle length Duster Coat and your goggles to protect your clothes and eyes from the dust and dirt of the unpaved roads; dont forget to caution lady passengers to secure their wide brim hats by a scarf tied over the top and beneath the chin; if it looked like rain better stay home because your roadster probably didnt have top or if yours was a “touring car” youd be thoroughly wet by the time you got its movable top in place and the side curtains buttoned on; and never, ever overtake a horse and buggy until the horseman had time to get off the road and hold his horse in tight control.
The good old days? Perhaps 1919 wasnt so great after all. But a $7.50 auto insurance premium seems pretty nice, doesnt it? (Altho it could take a weeks pay to pay that premium.) That must be one of the really pleasant things about those “good ol days of yesteryear.”
And the history of the first automobile agency in Brighton? The sister, Mamie, of George H. Ratz, son of the G. B. Ratz & Son Hardware had married Will Ryan who had become the General Sales Manager of the Ford Motor Co. This resulted in George H. being the first to have the franchise for Ford Model T cars in the Brighton area. He sold Ford cars like hot cakes directly from the Ratz store for several years. (The store was located on the S. E. Corner of Main & Hyne Street.) But the agency was given up when Henry Ford insisted that all Ford dealers maintain a showroom and repair shop.
Condensed and edited from material supplied by Colt Park, and ” A scrapbook of Michigan Memorabilia: by Wm. Pless. M. Bair, Editor