Chap. 440.—An ACT to incorporate the Pulaski and Giles insurance compar

Approved February 20. 1900..

Whereas a charter of incorporation was granted on the thirty-fi1
day of December, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, by the Honorat
B. R. Wellford, judge of the circuit court of city of Richmond, Virginia,
to J. D. Adams, J. D. Dickson, J. lu. Adams, W. A. Kay, and W. B.
Porter, making ‘and creating the said parties a body corporate, under
the name of the mutual benefit association, as amended by an order
entered June twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, with
power to organize and create county divisions in any one or more coun-
ties in this state or any other state in the United States of America, ior
the purpose of mutual benefit insurance against loss by fire, wind,
hghtning, upon the terms and under the conditions fixed by the by- “laws
of said corporation; and

Whereas the Pulaski and Giles division of said association embracing
all the territory within the bounds of Pulaski and Giles counties, in the
state of Virginia, was duly organized under authority of said charter.
and hecame a distinct local organization on the twenty-eighth day of
March, eighteen hundred and “ninety- six, since which time the said
local organization has been maintained, and has been operating 1
accordance with the charter and by -laws of said association in reeciving
members, issuing policies, and paying the losses and expenses that have
occurred and accrued avainst said division; and

Whereas said charter and by-laws were made more applicable to,
and more particularly for the purpose of organizing divisions, than for
conducting the business of mutual benefit insurance; and

Whereas the said local organization has found itself encumbered by
some objectionable features in said charter and by-laws and has no
power to alter or amend the same, so as to provide a safe, economical,
and convenient code for its government in the conduct of its business;
and

Whereas the members of the said lo¢al organization desire to main-
tain their organization for the purpose of mutual insurance, and to
obtain a legal, distinct corporate existence with such power as will
enable it to conduct said business with economy, safety, and convenience
to its members both severally and collectively; therefore,

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That H. B.
Howe, George H.C humbley, J. K. R. Bell, B. P. Miller, J. C. Miller,
C. P. Tinsley, B. I. elkins, J. G. Buford, J. H. Durham, and M. A.
Barbee, and such other persons as now are, or may hereafter become
members of said organization and their successors, are hereby made
and created a body corporate and politic, by the name and for the pur-
pose, with the power and under the restrictions, hereinafter set forth,
as follows—to wit: The name of the company shall be the Pulaski and
Giles mutual insurance company, and by said name shall have perpetual
succession, and may sue and be sued, and have and use a common seal.

2. The purposes for which this charter is granted are to perpetuate
the legal corporate existence of the said local organization as a
separate and distinct company under the names set forth in section
one of this act, and to give it better facilities and full power to mutually
insure such dwelling-houses, barns, and other buildings, also house-
hold goods, live stock, and other personal property as it may preseribe
against loss by fire, wind, or lightning, upon such terms and under
such conditions as are hereinafter mentioned or may be fixed by the
by-laws of this company for the government of said company in the
conduct of its business, not inconsistent with the laws of this state or
the United States.

3. That all policies of insurance and the terms and conditions under
which the same were granted by the said Pulaski and Giles division
shall remain in full force and be mutually binding upon this company
and the members of said division, until the same are withdrawn or
removed in accordance with the by-laws of said organization, or are
exchanged for policies to be issued by and in the name of this com-
pany under such by-laws, rules, and regulations as may be made or
adopted by its board of directors, but all policies exchanged as above
provided shall bear the date of the original policy to protect the rights
of the charter members.

4. The territory in which this company may mutually insure prop-
erty, shall be limited to the present boundary lines of Pulaski and Giles
counties in the state of Virginia.

5. That said company shall not at any time insure property for more
than three-fourths of its cash value, nor to a greater amount than two
thousand dollars on one or more pieces of property subject to the same
risk, until the aggregate amount of its policies in effect exceed five
hundred thousand dollars, and the amount of any damage or loss that
may occur to property insured by this company, by accidental fire, wind,
or lightning and any legitimate expense that may accrue against said
company in conducting its business shall be provided for and paid,
by assessing all its members for their ratable share thereof in such man-
ner as may be provided in the by-laws of the company.

6. That said company shall have the right to classify the property
that it will insure and to fix the initiation fee and rate of assessment
for each class, and it may also reserve the right to repair or replace
any damage or loss that occurs to property insured by it, when a satis-
factory adjustment cannot otherwise be made.

7%. That every person who hereafter desires to become a member of
this company, or whose policy is exchanged as provided in section three
of this act, shall sign a written or printed application fully deserib-
ing and vouching their valid ownership of the property upon
which insurance is desired, and expressing their acceptance of the terms
of this act and their assent to the by-laws of the company, and also
pledging themselves and all personal property and real estate owned
by them to said company for their ratable share of all losses and ex-
penses that may occur and accrue against said company while thev
remain members thereof, which acceptance, assent, and pledge together
with the payment of the initiation fee fixed for the class of property
mentioned in said application shall, upon approval of the same by
the directors of the district in which the property is situated, and a
granting of a policy by the president of the company and countersigned
bv the secretary, constitute such persons members of said company from
the date of said policy, and as such thev, their heirs, and estate, shall!
be bound by all the provisions of their act and other laws of this state
for their ratable share of all losses and expenses that mav occur and
accrue against the company during their membership thereof, and
said application, when signed, approved, and a policy has been granted
as hereinbefore mentioned, shall be construed as a continuing obliga-
tion of, and lien against, the applicant and their estate for all claims due
said company as hereinbefore mentioned as though the said applica-
tion had been re-executed annually at the date thereof until they shall
have withdrawn or been removed as hereinafter provided.

Notice of any assessment shall be given to every member of the com-
pany, by the secretary at least thirty days before the time of final pay-
men, by mailing a written or printed statement of the amount due from
them to the post-office address given in their application for mem-
bership or such other address as they may have furnished to the said
secretary in writing, which notice shall in all cases be sufficient notice
to the members, and if any member fails to make payment of his or her
ratable share of any such assessment within the time required by the
by-laws of said company, it shall be lawful for said company to recover
the same or such part thereof as remain unpaid with interest and cost
of collection before any court or justice of the peace within whose
jurisdiction the said member resides. But if any application be dis-
approved or rejected or the valuation of the property therein named
be reduced, the initiation fee shall be returned to the applicant in
whole or in part as the case may be.

8. That any member of this company shall at all times have the
right to withdraw his or her property, or any part of it from insurance
by applying in writing to the secretary and paying such charge or fee
as may be in force at the time the application is made, and also paying
all outstanding claims for losses or expenses that may have occurred or
accrued against said company previous to twelve o’clock noon, of the
day on which such application was made, but applications for with-
drawal must be accompanied with the policy for cancellation, and all
withdrawals made in accordance with the foregoing provisions shall
release such members and their estates from any further liability to
said company for the insurance withdrawn, and also bar them from all
claims against said company for any damages or loss that may occur
to the property withdrawn subsequent to twelve o’clock, noon, of the
day on which the application was made, and in like manner the com-
pany, through such officer or board as may be authorized by the bv-
laws of said company, may remove any property from insurance bv
giving written notice to a member, and any transfer, in whole or in part.
of property insured by their company, except by bequest or entail, shall
operate as a release of the same from liability to, or claim against said
company, for losses or expenses that occur or accrue after twelve
o’clock, noon, of the day on which the transfer was consummated, but in
case of transfer by bequest or entail, the insurance shall remain in fu!!
force, and the legatee be held bound for the ratable share of losses and
expenses, as provided in section seven of this act, until the same is
withdrawn or removed in accordance with the provisions of this section.

9. That said corporation shall have a president, vice-president, and
a secretary, who shall also be treasurer, and one director, resident in
each magisterial district, which directors, collectively, together with
the president as chairman, and the secretary as clerk, shall constitute
a board of directors, which board shall be elected in the manner here-
inafter provided.

The said board shall have power to make or adopt the by-laws for the
government of the company, and to manage the business generally, but
other boards and committees may be provided for in the by-laws to
determine and dispose of such matters as may be referred or submitted
to them.

The members (policy-holders) of each district shall meet biennially
on the third day of August, at such place in the district as the director
may designate by a written or printed notice, and elect a director
for their district from their number; a majority of the votes cast in
accordance with the rules governing franchise as may have been adopted
in the by-laws shall be necessary to a choice. The director of the
district shall preside at such election and certify the result to the
secretary within five days thereafter. The members shall also ballot
at said district meetings for president, vice-president, and secretary, as
an expression of the will of their district, and the board of directors
shall meet within ten days after said district meeting and elect a presi-
dent and secretary, in which election each director, or his proxy, shall
cast the vote to which his district is entitled, under the by-laws of the
company, in accordance with the will of his district, or in such way
as he may find best for the interest of the company.

10. That the principal office of the company shall be in the state of
Virginia, with its president; but there shall always be a resident direc-
tor in Pulaski district, in Pulaski county, and in Pearisburg district, in
Giles county, upon either of whom process may always be served.

11. That all taxes and demands due the commonwealth shall be paid
in lawful money of the United States, and not in coupons.

12. That said corporation shall have the power to acquire and hold
real estate in its territory for the purpose of establishing its principal
office, not exceeding in aggregate the value of five thousand dollars.

13. The names and residences of the officers, who for the first year
shall manage the affairs of the company, are as follows—to wit: H. B.
Howe, president, Dublin, Virginia; F. B. Thrasher, vice-president,
Pearisburg, Virginia; George H. Chumbley, secretary and treasurer of
the company, and J. R. K. Bell, B. P. Miller, B. F. Elkins, and J. G.
Buford, of Pulaski county, Virginia, and M. A. Barbee and Charles P.
Tinsley, John C. Miller, and John Durham, of Giles county, Virginia,
directors thereof.

14. This act shall be in force from its passage.