Mr. CRYSTAL. Yes; very easily. He did not have the proper type of insurance. Nine chances out of ten he failed to purchase what is called comprehensive insurance, which would cover that. He probably just had fire and theft, because his cars were kept in the open, and he did not feel he could have such a catastrophe occur to him. Therefore he did not buy what he was able to buy.

Senator BUSH. Was he able to buy it?

Mr. CRYSTAL. Yes, sir. If your automobile was damaged in that flood, you yourself probably having good insurance advice, you could have recovered for the insurable value of your car. Many people did.

Senator BUSH. Well, I think that is very interesting. But is it not true that the type of insurance you speak of would be pretty expensive for the small-home owner on the banks of a river to carry for all of his personal property.

Mr. CRYSTAL. Most of those people cannot afford to carry it, sir, I agree with you.

Senator BUSH. That is the point. They cannot afford to do it. Therefore, as a practical matter, it is not available is it?

Mr. CRYSTAL. No; it is not, to them. But most of them who have cars are covered, sir.

Senator BUSH. Why do you exclude it, then, from your program. Because the point that keeps coming out here is that it is the people who can least afford this disaster who get the worst of it.

Mr. CRYSTAL. That is why I made the statement. I said "a defined catastrophe loss." I left that for the Congress to determine exactly what should be covered and what not.

Senator BUSH. But you still exclude personal property.

Mr. CRYSTAL. I believe that if people work, they can replace personal property from their efforts. And that was the only reason I was doing that.

They cannot make enough money to replace their home immediately, but if they are working, they can all use installment plans and other methods of purchase, and they could probably get the contents replaced rather quickly. Their credit is good as long as they are working.

Senator BUSH. Well, I do not want to belabor the point too much, Mr. Crystal, but in the town of Ansonia, on the riverbank there, most of the occupants of the flooded buildings did not own them, but they did own the stocks of goods on the shelves. What would your idea do for those fellows?

Mr. CRYSTAL. If it was a store, a business that would be able to employ other people, I think you would not include inventory as personal property. I would not.

Senator BUSH. What would you classify that as?

Mr. CRYSTAL. I would call that commercial inventory. It is the same as a machine. I think industry cannot survive if they do not have the means and tools of operation.

Senator BUSH. How about the fixtures, the showcases?

Mr. CRYSTAL. This is a matter for the Congress, sir. I could not assume to pile on the debt for the Government.

Senator BUSH. You come here as an expert. We want some expert advice on this; about these little people who have had the real damage, who have suffered the most. I do not see, frankly, where your suggestion is very practical as far as they are concerned-do you?