STATE FIRE INSURANCE OFFICE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 136, 1 August 1911, Page 3

STATE FIRE INSURANCE OFFICE.

The annual report of the General Manager for the year ending 31st lie- . comber, 1910, .presented to both Houses of' the General Assembly pursuant to the provisions; of the State Fire 1 nsuranee Act, 1 1908, reads as follow's: “I have the honour lb submit tire following report,on, and revenue account and', balance-shet-.t' ;of, tire State Fire Insurance Ollice for the year ending 31st December, 1910. The year under review has proved to be by far the most successful yet experienced by the office. The net premium income amounted too £40;551 lbs 2d, as against £33<281 Its 7d for the previous year, showing the very substantial increase of £7270 Os 7d, representing the largest‘expansion in business in any one year, since 1906. The profits for the year, after appropriating to reserve. £2908 0s 3d for unearned premiums,’ 1 "amounted to £BIB7 13s. The year commenced with a debit balance of £llll 9s Cd, which lias been converted.'! Into a credit balance of £7016 3s.'6d. The greatest profit made in any previous year was £2698 13s 7d, realised in 1909. The net losses for the year amounted to £18,913 18s 4d, as; against £18,531 12s for the previous "year, the ratio of losses to premium' 'ducouio being 16.6-1 for 1910 and 55.69 f for 1909. The losses for 1910 may he regarded as being below the average to lie expected. The office was fortunate in not being involved jn any large block conflagrations, ■and losses in bush-fires were not of a spinous nature. The ratio of working-expenses was 28.3 per cent, as against 30.5 per cent for 1909, and 38 perl tent for 1908. The reduction of 2.2 por cent represents a saving of nearly £9OO on the business of 1910 as compared with 1909. 1 think it may now he safely said that the working expenses of the State Fire Office are lower than those of any similar Imsiuces carried on in this Dominion. Included/* in these expenses is an amount' of £729 18s Id, representing contributions to Fire Boards. These contributions in some districts are a very rjieavy charge on the premium income, absorbing, as they do, from' 2.73 to 29.02 per cent, and averaging' abouiy7.V per cent of the total premium Income from all the Fire Board districts. It will he noted from the that the investments of the office arc new £20,000, as rompa.red'with £IO,OOO for 1909; and the reserve for unearned premiums £16,220 I ts Id, as against £13,312 13s lOd for the previous year. The exceptionally good results of the past year’s operations cannot be looked upon as furnishing evidence that the existing rates' are such as to insure a reasonable.'? margin of profit over a series of years. Dess favourable years are fairly certain to occur. The rates on 1 koine of the more,hazardous classes of yislis are, in uiy opinion, inadequate. The sum of £2OOO was raised? when Ibis office commenced operations in 1905, and upon tins sum interest has been paid annually. The office Ims therefore since its inception been entirely self-supporting; but; to place it reasonably beyond the possibility of, in future, having to call upon the Government for additional functc, it is essential, in my opinion, that a fairly substantial reserve fund should I;a built up to provide against large losses, which are within the Found:? of possibility in cases of serious cocll tgralions such as occurred in (he c ities of Gin istcbiircb and Wellington dining the past few years. To facilitate the building up of such a 1 i, M've fund, i recommend an amendunent of clause 12 of the State Fire

Insurance Act providing for distributing of profits. In view of the very heavy reduction of rates—ranging up to AH per cent on the greater portion of the fire premiums for the Dominion which eventuated when 1- e State oil ice was established, and which lias been the means of saying to the people in fire premiums exceedingly large sums annually, the present position of the oflice cannot, I think, he regarded as other than satisfactory.—C. 11. C. Rohikson, General Manager.”