LIFE ASSURANCE.—INDUSTRIAL POLICIES.

Evening Star, Issue 3647, 30 October 1874, Page 3

LIFE ASSURANCE. —INDUSTRIAL POLICIES.

The extension of the Government scheme . 1 j® assurance and annuities to all V L foSi V - Societies registered under the Act , ] 867 x ® a . Wlse and one that should lead to the class *f the community for whose special benefit it is designed largely availing themselves of the advantages of the scheme. The payment of a small sum we.kly enables members of Friendly Societies to acquire an industrial policy,” as the regulations term it, which is, m other words, a moderate provision for his wfe and family in case of aeatn. ibe policies cannot be effected for ; n amount exceeding two hundred pounds. 6 Payments must be made weekly Bv the illustrative table it appears, for instance, *Pf- n ‘"enty may secure at ~ lf in . . ful! benfc fit’—thesum of L 56 L4 -n a weekly payment of sixpence. It will be asked what is meant by full benefit? !he rule on this point is plain and explicit. W e are told that the sum assured under anv hfe assurance policy shall not be payable in f the I Xp i ra ' if ‘ n of fcwelve calendar _nonths from the da'e of such policy. If the insured should die within the specified time M em »S\ on }? ° f theßum assur fd shall 7h b ° Taketno examplealreadv qnoted, and the result is that if A, having paid, we shall say, the sum of sixpence weekly for two or three weeks, were to die at the end hllnfa!’ hlB hlilr8 ’ assignß » foil’d be ent'tJed to receive from the Government if® 7 ; •J f he paid ‘ in, as has already been pointed out. f„r twelve months, his heirs would be entitled to I S(J 14 S jfc appears from the table that these industrial policies are not calculated for lives over sixty, but it is clear that if a person of that age whose “life” had been iccepfed after only making one payment of three shillings per week, his executors would have a claim against the GrjTernraeat for L 59 4a Ihe weekly payments, in the table, range from one penny per week to three shillings and the ages from sixteen to .ixfcy '1 he ox ample* already given will show that those who wish to be provident may, if they belong to a Friendly Society, be provident °°i -, C a,IS ? J1 of tho seemed to admit of a doubt as to the power of the local agents, and the Lyttelton Times having agreed that they were in effect medical examiners as well as agents *7 wer ® wiaced in a position which enables them to over ride, as it were, the nnnlA “ 6dl ° al “annner, and, accordingly could “pass” a whole lodge of Oddfellows or Foresters at once, or send all “ proposers”to the medical examiner, or refer them all to m a 1!8I °i er l M - r F - E - Wr ‘g b t, one rf the officers of the department in Cantertion y -- haS “ ade the foll ® wiD S explana--0;(w!w* clause of the regulations considerably curtails the local agent’s power. It Sfri&rf If f su , c . h a ßent be not satisfied us to the eligibility of the life, he shall, in the first in3“°®',, re mu reposal to the Commis- • n Th * following clause provides that l.he Commissioner may in any such case direct the medical examination to be made.” This does not mean that the agent can insure without medical examination, as interpreted in y©ur article, but it is intended to imply that if the agent has any doubt as to the life passing the examination with success, he is to scncl the papers to the Commissioner, who will use his judgment either to direct that the proposer be referred for {examination, or that he write to the proposer declining the risk. This regulation is intended to prevent unnecessary expenditure in medical fees. I cannot understand on whai pounds any of the benefit societies should take any hostile view of these regulations, lhe Government found that all clas.-es of the community, excepting the largest-the industrial class— took ready advantage of the Government scheme. I represented to the Commissioner soon after the establishment of : m assurance department that there was a :/~, cu f y m getting at the working classes, and that when an agent did come face to face with Jf 6 SLi! waa £f q y, eut, y me t with a great deal of shyness. The Government have fully seen this, and have in consequence elaborated the scheme, entrusting the management of the affairs of the industrial assurance of each lodge to one of themselves, nominated by the members of such lodge. In doing this, the Government have placed it in the power of every moderately healthy man to make posthumous provision foi the protection of his family at a cost commencing from a penny a week. We understand that it is the intention of Mr M ‘Donough to hold a public meeting in | Dunedin shortly, when he will explain to 1 members of Friendly societies the working of the extension of the Government scheme.