INSURANCE-A STRANGE CASE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1127, 15 May 1911, Page 5

INSURANCE-A STRANGE CASE.

HOW A WOMAN FARED. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Ch'ristchurch, May 13. The Mayor (Mr. T. E. Taylor, M.P.) remarked to a reporter to-day that he favoured the late Sir Harry Atkinson's scheme for compulsory national lite insurance, and a case that came under his notice recently confirmed him in tho belief that liie insurance should be a State monopoly. The case reterred to, he said, was that of a working man's wile, who was induced by a canvasser in 1896 to take out an industrial policy. She was to pay sixpence per week until she reached the' age of 35, and she would then receive ,£2l. The policy matured recently, and sbo was ■ offered £Vi iu full settlement of her claim, after having paid in a total of .£l9 10s. At first she thought Of contesting the matter in the courts, but abandoned the idea when the possibility of losing tho money offered in sottleinent was brought to her attention. Tho wo- , man was confident that the sum men- " tioned to her, when she took out the policy, was £2L Tho policy was not .issued to her till'a. long, time after .her (proposal had been (accepted,-and ritiießntaiaed a. provision, that, if the weekly payments wero in arrears for tight weeks, the policy would lapse. Right up to 'within nine weeks of the maturing of tho policy sho was waited upon for her' payments, and, when the policy matured, she was informed that it had lapsed owing to the non-payment of premiums. "Upon threatening to take legal proceedings, she was oft'ered in full settlement, and this she accepted, and so made the bfest Of a bad bargain.