FIRE INSURANCE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIV, Issue 117, 28 April 1924, Page 3

FIRE INSURANCE.

GROWTH IN DOMINION. BIG INCREASE IN ASSETS. Some interesting features are contained iu the Government report on tho insurances statistics of the Dominion for the year 1922. '1 he premium income and losses in fire insurance since 1898 arc noteworthy. In 1898 the premium income of fire offices iu New Zealand was £382,281, and the fire losses £302,490, giving a percentage loss for the year of 79.1. For the five years from that date the percentage loss was 62.21, and, taking a. ten-yearly period, the percentage loss was 63.69. Coming to 1918-1922, the premium incomes for these years were £1,241 829, £1,351,- 1 083, _ £l, ($2,048, £1,768,416. and £1,785,308 respectively. Tho fire losses for these years were £472 247, £390,598, £418,656, £738,638, ‘and £739,- | 075. The percentage of loss was thus 38.0 for 1918, 28.9 for 1919, 27.7 for . 1920, 41.8 for 1921. and 41.4 for 1922. | Over the five years the percentage loss was 35.90. as compared with 51.24 for, the preceding five-yearly period. j It is pointed out that among the assets of the various fire offices mort- I gage securities have declined consider. I ably in amount, while, on the other, hand, investments in Government seentities show a continued increase, the change being attributed to the incidence of taxation from mortgages operating on a sliding scale. Cash and other assets in New Zealand also show a remarkable increase, due to a large extent to cash deposits with the Public Trustee. The total assets in the Dominion have increased from £3.876 - 085 in 1919 to £5,759,248 in 1922. i