H.—B

1924. NEW ZEALAND.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT INSURANCE COMMISSIONER FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1923.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly pursuant to the Provisions of the Government Life Insurance Act, 1908.

Government Insurance Office, Wellington, Ist July, 1924. Pursuant to the Government Life Insurance Act, 1908, I beg to make the following report upon tho transactions of the Department for tho year ended 31st December, 1923 :— - As foreshadowed in the last annual, report, J. H. Richardson, Esq., C.M.G., who controlled for so long a period the destinies of the Department, retired from the Commissionership during the year; and I was appointed to succeed him. on the Ist June, 1923. Staff. —Considerable inconvenience has been caused to the Department by the difficulty experienced in securing qualified actuarial assistance. It has taken twelve months to get the position of Assistant Actuary filled, and then only by sending to Great Britain. Not a single qualified candidate was available in New Zealand, and the reluctance of young New-Zealanders to qualify, notwithstanding exhortation, and in the face of obvious opportunities, must apparently be accounted for by their unfavourable verdict upon weighing the monetary inducement against the difficulty and lengthiness of the study, ranging over the whole field of insurance, economics, accounting, banking, and finance, and consuming mi the average about seven years. Whatever the cause, the result, following as it did after a similar and even longer delay in securing a previous appointee from Australia, has seriously hampered the work of the Department, as it concerns the best scientific and most indispensable assistance available to a life-insurance office. It has also had its effect upon the important actuarial work performed by this Department for other Departments of the State. Business. —The year has been a good one, as is evidenced by the following comparison with the previous year : — New policies issued— 1922. 1923. (a.) Number .. .. .. .. .. 3,797 4,754 (6.) Insuring .. .. .. .. .. £1,286,609 £1,581,722 Business in foree — (a.) Number .. .. .. .. .. 59,487 60,545 (6.) Insuring (exclusive of bonus) .. ..£15,995,235 £16,549,451 Income — £ £ (a.) Premiums .. .. .. .. 473,141 489,171 (b.) Interest .. .. .. .. .. 294,914 315,425 (c.) Annuity purchase-money .. .. .. 10,593 10,042 (ci.) Total income .. .. .. .. 778,915 814,638 Outgo for claims — (a.) Deaths .. .. .. .. .. 204,791 166,797 (&.) Matured policies . . .. .. .. 198,131 235,409 Accumulated funds .. .. .. .. 5,922,825 6,222,485 Insurance without Medical Examination. —During the year a system was instituted whereby insurance within certain limits may be effected without medical examination. It is particularly useful in out-of-the-way localities where no doctor is available. The results so far have been very satisfactory. Though a large number of policies has been effected, there has not up to the time of writing been a single claim. The Balance-sheet.— On the 31st December, 1923, the total assets of the Department amounted to £6,489,868. The following statement gives the distribution of the assets at the end of the year as compared with the previous year : —

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At 31st December, 1922. At 31st E )ecember, 1923. , , Percentage Amount. (]f ToU1 £ 2,743,870 43-7 854,240 13-6 1,982,900 31-6 233,025 3-7 136,895 2-2 162,941 2-6 162,148 2-6 Class of Investment. Amount. Percentage of Total Afsets. Mortgages on freehold property Loans on policies Government securities Local bodies' debentures Landed and house property Miscellaneous assets (lash in hand and on current account £ 2,674,831 874,657 2,180,270 252,601 142,131 160,236 205,142 41-2 13-5 33-6 3-9 2-2 2-5 3-1 6,276,019 100-0 Total .. 6,489,868 100-0