LIFE INSURANCE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1380, 5 March 1912, Page 5

LIFE INSURANCE.

ITALIAN BILL. By TeleeraDh-Presi A«socia'.lon-t)opyriirhl Rome, March 3. The Chamber of Deputies adopted the Insurance Bill.

The Bill institutes a national system of life insurance in Italy. According to "Tho Times" correspondent the most important chapter of this Bill is the second, which deals with Italian and foreign insurance companies now existent in 1™)?Within a fortnight of the date on which this law will come into force all private life insurance companies, whether Italian or foreign, will have to present their registers to appointed officials, and tho registers will then be closed. Existing contracts will be recognised—that is to • say, companies will continue to receive premiums and pay policies ,on insurances already effected; but no further insurances can be made after the passing of tho law, and no now business will be dono. . Oho of tho strongest reasons given lor tho measure is the need of providing funds for old age pensions. At a low estimate such pensions .would require .£■1,000,000 a year. On the other hand, it is pointed, by critics of the BUI, that during the last fivo years the Italian and foreign insurance companies doing business in Italy mado a net profit of about or a littlo over .£OO,OOO n year. It is admitted that it will be about eight years before the NationalMonopoly can collect the business of the companies it will dispossess.