REPORT OF GOVERNMENT INSURANCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1241, 11 September 1875, Page 9

REPORT OF GOVERNMENT INSURANCE.

The report of the Government Insurance Department is printed. The number of new policies for the year is 1450, assuring for L 498,755. Premiums received in the year, L 23,104. I Thirty-two claims, representing L 12.050, have | been put in. The number of policies issued since the establishment of this department is I 5928, assuring L 2,097,874, of which 864 have been discontinued, leaving 5064 existing policies, assuring L 1,841,322. The receipts for the year [ from fall sources amount t»,L63,699 Is 6d, and the excess of receipts over is [ L 41.419 lls lid. The balance at the credit of the department on the 30th June last was L 108,525 Is 7d. In thrordhYary branch, the yearly ratio of expenses of management, mii eluding commission, to the premium income, has been reduced from 37.01 per cent' in 1872 |to 19.24 per cent, in 1875. A further reduction year by year may safely be anticipated. The average ratio and the costof management of 120 Life Insurance Companies in Great Britain was 15.12 per cent, for 1874, and their average age was 39 years; but taking only those whose age did not exceed ten years, the average was 57.32 per cent. The report says the law requires •in this year, and at " the end of every subsequent period of five years, an investigation to be made by an actuary into the financial condition of the Government Insurance Department, and prescribes the form in which the report of such actuaiy shall be made. It was contemplated by the Government to arrange, if possible, for the visit to this Colony from England of an actuary of high standing and reputation for the purpose of this investigation. This arrangement has been found impracticable, but another one has been made, by means of which two eminent actuaries m London, Mr W. P. Pattison and Mr A. H. Bailey, will there make that investigation on detailed information, specified bythemasrequfc site, and furnished to them. The required information in the form in which they prescribe will be checked in this Colony by some properly qualified officer from the Audit Office or Treasury, wholly independent of this department Mr Pattison has, on the part of Mr Bailey and himself, expressed their "full intention to do all the work necessary not only to ascertain the sutnciency of tne premiums charged, but also to form a complete opinion of the position of the department," and, he adds, "we consider that! if the returns for^which we ; will give instructions are correctly made, the valuation can be made as well m England as if we were to visit the Colony for the purpose." The required returns are m course of preparation, and at soon as they are comnlete^ and their correctness checked by an Audit or Treasury officer, they will be forth with sent to the actuaries named. befOttht