Hugo Black

“ The total of premiums or deposits from insurance affecting New York property is more than that from Illinois, the state in which the associations have their headquarters and whose laws they insist must govern their contracts. ”

“ The insurance engineers may visit the subscriber from time to time to encourage the reduction of fire hazards or to investigate the cause and extent of losses, and on such trips the engineer may give information concerning the enterprise to prospective participants, although he does not actively solicit business. The contracts reserved the right of the reciprocals to go into New York to repair, rebuild, or replace lost or damaged property. ”

“ These business transactions neither begin nor end with the contract.
The intimacy of the relation of these insurance contracts to the state of New York becomes even more apparent when it is remembered that the property insured is in the state of New York. The states have long held great authority over property within their borders. A state may make flood control, quarantine, conservation and zoning regulations affecting property within its bounds. ”

“ No subscriber is to be granted a secured or preferred claim against the operating reserve. No new agreements are to be made with subscribers who do not have net assets in excess of ten thousand dollars. At least one office must be maintained in New York and policies must be countersigned by a resident New York agent.
These regulations can not be attacked merely because they affect business activities which are carried on outside the state. ”

“ Reciprocals' subscribers in every state must execute their powers of attorney in accordance with specified forms and a standard form of contract must be used by all subscribers wherever they are located. Certain forms of accounting are also required. Advisory committees of the subscribers themselves, rather than appointed attorneys in fact, must have ultimate powers of management of the reciprocals' affairs and must provide regulations for the control and custody of their funds. ”

“ Neither New York nor Illinois loses the power to protect the interests of its citizens because these associations carry on activities in both places. Alaska Packers Association v. Industrial Accident Commission, supra. We think the regulations themselves, since they are aimed at the protection of the solvency of the reciprocals or at promoting the convenience with which New York residents may do their insurance business, are all within the scope of state power. ”

“ The provisions requiring an office in the state and counter signature of the contracts by an agent in the state are no more stringent than those approved in La Tourette v. McMaster, 248 U.S. 465, 39 S.Ct. ”