THE SOUTH BRITISH INSURANCE COMPANY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 243, 13 October 1910, Page 4

THE SOUTH BRITISH INSURANCE COMPANY.

The consistent and long-continued success of a large financial institution that was founded here and has grown up ia our midst is a matter that beneficially affects the whole community; and the citizens of Axiekland, whether they happen to be shareholders in this particular enterprise or not, deserve to be congratulated on the prosperity of the South British insurance Company. During the past year, as the annual report shows, the company has taken full advantage of the general commercial and finaneiai activity that has pervaded the country. The local offices are being enlarged to cope with the increasing volume Of business, and the returns, as set forth in the ■balance-sheet, iiave been on the whole extremely satisfactory. Thex e has been a large increase in premiums and a considerable rise in revenue from rent and interest; the Loss ratio and the Expenses ratio are both lower than lasl year; while the profits on Underwriting have risen from 9 1-3 to 131-0 per cent. It has thus been possible to pay an increased dividend while streugxhuning tile reserve fund by £30,000, bringing it up to a sum total of £J4i),OOG. The company's, gross assets now stand at over £70U,000; and of this over a quarter of a million stands in landed property, which has been carefully written down considerably below its actual value, so as

to comply with the Board of Trade regulations. The position of the company is thus in every way sound and saU»mctory, and if the same juodclous methods are pursued in future, there seems to be no reason why its prosperity should not be indefinitely prolonged. The success of the South British Company is the more remarkable because it has to face extremely keen and active competition, . and as the Chairman's report shows, in one particular this competition takes a form that is distinctly unfair. We refer to 'the fact that outside insurance companies which have no

offices or representatives here are able to take risks in the Dominion without paying anything toward the local Fire Brigade funds. As our readers are aware, the Fire Brigade Boards are empowered by statute to levy contributions for this purpose on all local insurance companies; and the outside underwriting bodies which escape this tax are thus able to "'cut" local rates with great prolit to themselves, while their property is protected by fire brigades which they pay nothing to support. This is a matter which, it appears to us, requires the immediate attention of Parliament. In a country which has accepted Protection for local enterprises as the basis of its fiscal policy, it should n«ed little argument to prove that it is unjust to local insurance companies to otl'tjr preferential advantages to their outside rivals, and we hope that representations will be made in the proper quarters to ensure that this unfair handicap shall be promptly removed. ,