LIFE INSURANCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2928, 27 April 1910, Page 25

LIFE INSURANCE.

AMALGAMATION OF> COMPANIES. MELBOURNE, April 21. The Insurance Commisaioner's report suggests that, there should be a uniform Federal law to deal with, insurance companies, founded on the general trend of the English Assurance Companies Act. Such legislation should! recognise that the assurance and annuity funds of companies are essentially trust funds. The Commission urges the appointment of a Commonwealth insurance commissioner and the registration of companies, with heavy penalties against non-regis-tration, foreign companies to have permanent residents in the Commonwealth as representatives. The . Commission also urges that 9,11 companias be compelled to furnish substantial deposits with the Federal Government—the existing companies £20,000 for the first year, and £IO,OOO each succeeding year till £IOO,OOO is reached. Amongst a number of recommendations for protecting policy-holders is one that no policy should be voided on account of capital punishment or suicide unless in the latter case it occurs within 13 months of the date of the payment of the first premium. SYDNEY, April 23. , ; : The .amalgamation of the Australian Widows' Fund Life Assurance Society with the Mutual Life and Citizens' Company has been arranged. We have received from the resident secretary in N*w Zealand of .the Australian Widows' Fund Life Assurance Society a copy of the proposal for the transfer of ife business to the Mutual Life and Citizens Assurance Company. The proposal

took definite shape in an offer which was addressed by the latter company to the Australian Widows' Fund Life Assurance Society on the 18th March. In this letter the managing director of the Mutual Life and Citizens Assurance Company laid stress on the mutual advantages that • would toe produced by the more economical working of the business of the company and the society that would be the effect of am amalgamation of their respective , undertakings, and submitted a statement of terms and conditions upon which his company would be prepared to agree to the amalgamation. This proposal appealed so favourably to the directors of the Australian Widows' Fund Life Assurance Society that the chairman on their behalf addressed, on the 20th April, a circular to its members recommending their acceptance of 'the offer. In addition to jtber advantages, the effect of the acceptance of the offer would, he advised, be the reduction l of the society's expense rate to a point which, in the opinion of the directors, could not be reached in any other way, if at all, for many years to come. The benefit of such a reduction would be so groat that tho directors, had entered into a conditioha? preliminary agreement with that view. The recommendationis of the actuary and' of the secretary, who, with the directors, had gone into the matter exhaustively, had been so favourable to the proposals that the directors were able to recommend most strongly their acceptance; and in order to place the matter bafore the members in a concrete shape-they had, after full discussion with the directors of the .Mutual Life and Citizens Company (Limited), embodied the proposals in % suggested form of agreement which had been drawn lip by the society's solicitors with the advice of leading counsel, and which, whilst securing to them the antioipatsd benefits, contained also ample provision for safeguarding the interests of members on their existing basis.