NATIONAL MUTUAL LIFE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2973, 10 January 1917, Page 7

NATIONAL MUTUAL LIFE

3 . „ . 47tli ANNUAL MEETING THE YEAE'S PROGRESS Tho 47th annual mooting of the Nal tional Mutual Life Association of Aus- ) tralasia, Limited, was held l at Melbourne, on December 20, 1916, when Mr. i Andrew Newell, chairman of directors, i presided. r The annual roport and balance-sheet • ( for the year ended Soptemiber 30, 1916, ' showed, that a total of 11,005 new policies were issued, assuring 7s. 1 10d.,. while 45 annuity policies were is-. ; sued for £1904 Is. lOd. psr year. The ■ policies yielded now annual premiums 1 of. £133,482 16s. 4d. . Micro were 1128 : deaths* involving claims under 1258 • policies* which amounted, with bonus . additions, to £405,633 14s. lid. In , addition, 681 endowment assurances, : amounting to £168,535 9s. 6d., and 27 endowments, amounting to £43,329 15s. I 6d., matured, making the total claims i £617,508 19s. Lid.. The total income ■ for tho year, after deducting reassur- ' ance- premiums, was £1,661,648 os. 2d., ; and the total expenditure £931,805 lis. 7d'., ■ including £763,001 3s. 4d. ' paid to policyholders and their repre- • seiitativos. ' The chairman, in moving the adop- ' tion of the report and! balance-sheet, said:— . ■ . The report which has been prosentod i to you shows plainly tho progress of the business of the association during the past year. We have, issued 11,005 • policies, assuring £3,235,845, or £107,i 000 more than tho new business for tho : previous year. Wc have received prc- • luiums amounting to £1,181,251, and ■ interest amounting to £480,325. The 1 total receipts, £1,661,648, exceed tho ; previous year's receipts by £106,582. We ' have paid to pur members or their re- : presentativos £763,000. This includes . claims through tho death of policyhold- '. ers amounting to £405,643, and as the net result of tho year's transactions i the assurance fund of the association • has been increased, by £729,842. This is £37,600 more tlian the amount added to tho funds in any previous.year. Including tho investment fluctuation fund, ; a sum which your directors prudently ' set apart many years ago to provide for any possible depreciation in tho value ■ of the assets, but which .fortunately has not beon required for that purpose, and, as far as we can tell, will not be required, tho funds amounted at the close of the financial year to £10,204,296., With our minds full to the exclusion of every other thought of the gigantic undertaking the Empire is at present engaged in, and to which wo aro all bouiid to contribute all our energies and resources, it may soom incongruous to parade the,association's prosperity, but when the nature of our business is considered it will be seen that wc and all similar institutions aro helping tho common cause by extending our business. For we are preachers of tho gospel of economy in-the most unselfish form, and by practising economy and by working more energetically than we have ever-worked before, those of us who have to stav at homo are giving the most vahiablo help to those who are risking their lives'at the front. REVENGE ACCOUNT. . The meaning of our revenuo account 1 is that over 123,000 persons have, purely for thrift or economy, contributed considerably moro than' ono million pounds during tho year to the funds of tho association, whilo nearly £500,000 has beon received from investments, evory penny of which belongs to tho members; £400,000 has beon paid to the representatives of 1128 ' members who have died; 295 of these members wero killed in action or "died from wounds received in action, or from disease contracted on active service. Tho claims that wore directly duo to tho war, amounted to £81,000. For endowments that matured during tho lifetime of policy-holders for annuities, surrenders, etc., over £360,000 was paid, and as the net result of the year's transaction, as I liavo already stated, £730,000 was added to tho funds. This amount of £730,000 was invested by the directors '. mainly in two *ays—£42o,ooo was lont to tho British and Australian Governments and £300,000 was lont on mortgages of freeholds, which aro almost entirely fanning properties in tho wheat : areas, so tho money is being used to : develop primary industries. Thus you , will see that tho community has profited in many respects as tho result of tho association's operations. Perhaps the beneficent work of life - offices is moro apparent,at tho present ; timo than it has ever been. By their agency distress has been alleviated, economy has been encouraged, and the resources of the Empire have been materially increased.. The exact figures aro not available, but tho London "Economist," in August of this year, estimated that war claims amounting to over £8,000,000 had been paid by life insuranco companies, within the Empiroj and this, as I havo indicated, ' is not,tho only service that tho com- ' panies havo rendered. Notwithstanding I tho extra strain on their funds, tho < ability of tho companies to meet their < obligations is unquestionable, and they < never occupied a higher place in public I estimation than they do to-day. i Our death claims, although £53,000 * greater than they were last year, and \ £135,000 greater than they were two ! years ago, were less than, tho amount f that had-'been provided for. i t BONUS TEAR. 1 The directors hope to call tho mombers togothcr again early in tho Now Year to receive tho results of the tri- 5 ennial investigation of tho affairs of tho } association. Tho date for tho investigation is September 30 last, and, although tho staff have been working • short-handed for a long timo, and tho ■ work has beon much heavier than at , any previous investigation, tho results will bo ready as soon as they havo ovor ■> been. Indeed, I am now in a position to tell you that they will bo very satisfactory, and that members may look \ forward lo receiving substantial additions to thoir policies. • •■ „ The way in which tho work of tho '; association, including tho special work L of the, investigation, Ims been perform- ± ed by the stall deserves special recognition.' At the head office and at all ! the branches members of the staff havo offered themselves freely for activo sor- { vice with the fullest approval and cncouragoment of tho directors. Practically every eligible man at tho head of- t ; fice has eiilistpd, and from our London' j office 50 per cent, of tho total staff ara , serving. Mr. U. G, K. Taylor, of ~ tho London office, and Mr. S. N. Bar- '„ loWj of the Brisbane office, have given i their lives, and Mr. E. I. Gunn, r of the . head office, is reported missing..- Those who remained have cheerfully performed the extra duties, and tho temporary clerks that we j have brought m until tho return of the i soldiers have dono excellent work. ' At the ond of tho financial year, Mr. f J. W. Rail, having reached the age I fixed for his retirement, resigned his j position as manager of tho South African branch of the association. Mr. Rail had been in tho service almost continuously for ovor thirty years. He ' had filled several responsible positions, -l to tho great advantage of tho association, but the South African branch is almost entirely the result of his efforts. He applied his zeal and onorgy » to thoi development of that branch from „ its foundation, and had tho satisfac- n tion, after tewr x years, of handing -

over to his successor ono of the most important and prosporous branches of tho association. Mr: AValter Madden, in seconding the motion, said that any member of tho association not satisfied with the result of the year's working was very hard to please indeed. Considering tho most exceptional times, the result was highly satisfactory. Tho report was adopted. Messrs. A. Nowell, and J. C. Stewart were declared re-elected as directors; and Messrs. J. Valentino and W. M. Jarvie ws auditors. .- -,■ !