NATIONAL INSURANCE CO.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 975, 16 November 1910, Page 10

NATIONAL INSURANCE CO.

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS. ■' (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Dunsdin, November 15. The annual meeting of shareholder in the National Insuranco Company was held to-day. - Kr. J. ■ ll.' Ritchie, chairman of directors, presided. The balance-sheet showed the net revenue for the year to be iH44,874 Bs. 3d. After paying an interim dividend of £7500. - a surplus of £28,536 Ps. lid. was left which, when the balance of last year was added, ?ave £58,897 1?3. lid. The directors reported having added to the reserve fund £20,000, and recommended the payment of i further dividend of Is. per .share, which ivill absorb £10,000. Tho total dividend for the year was Is. 9d.> per share. 1 The. chairman, in moving tho adoption jf the report and balance-sheet, said lie was glad to say .that they had a satisfactory balance-sheet to bring before tho shareholders. , They had had'an incrcaso :>f £7500 in the net premium income, and tio hoped that might be tho beginning of x. constant materia! increase. The loss patio: stood at the exceedingly favourable figure of" just ; under 48' per cent. .The average. for the past five, years' was .'under 50 per icent.-, which . fairly, entitled ' them

to take these results out of the category of luck and chance and attribute them t< the careful underwriting of the manage: and staff, to whom it was. proposed U jive a bonus which would come into ac count • next year. The percentage o charges had boon slightly reduced, ant tho net underwriters' profit had been im proved by 3 per ccnt., standing now at 1 per cent. Tho investments had increasec by nearly £29,000, and although the per centage of interest was rather less—£4 14s 4d. per ccnt. instead of £4 6s. lid.—th< total interest and rent came to £18,257 in stead of £17,360 last year. The reserv< had also not been forgotten. Mr. Hcnton seconded the motion, which was carried without discussion. Messrs. 11. Glendining and T. W. Kemp thorne wcro re-electcd directors, and Messrs. T. S. Graham and E. R. Smith were reappointed auditors.