STANDARD INSURANCE COMPANY.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2040, 7 September 1880, Page 3

STANDARD INSURANCE COMPANY.

[PBB PBBS3 ASSOCIATION SPECIAL WIE3. | DUNEDIN, September 6. An ordinary general meeting of the Standard Fire and Marine Insurance Company was held to-day ; Mr John Reid in the chair. The report and balance-sheet showed that the net premiums received amounted to £27.890 2s, and the interest on investments and transfer fees to £3758 9s 4d. The fire, marine and guarantee losses are shown as £30,430 18s 93, and commission, salaries and charges £7748 12s 3d, or a total of £38,179 11s, as against £31,648 lls 43, the revenue for six months ; the loss for the half-year being £6531 19s. The balance brought forward from the preceding half-year (£2196 9s lOd) reduces the amount to the debit of profit and loss to £4034 9s 103, and to meet this the directors suggest that a sum of £SOOO be transferred from the reserve fund.

In the course of his remarks, the chairman said:—You will doubtless recollect that at the previous meeting various shareholders expressed themselves as decidedly opposed to the company continuing to do business in America, and whether this was a wise course it is now not necessary to inquire. Opinions appear to be divided on that head. However, in deference to your wishes, we decided, as moat of yon are probably aware, to re-insure the whole of our business and retire. The cost of reinsuring was about £3OOO, and I am pleased to say that the character of our risks must have been looked on as very good, considering that the re insurers allowed us a bonus of 35 per cent, clear on the whole of the fire business, which speaks volumes for the care and good judgment of our agent. Again, wo ceased to take risks on hulls some five or six months ago, and during alj that time the ordinary crop of losses has been coming in, and as a matter of course had to be paid out of premiums arising from other sources. These causes combined have reduced the item net premiums to the sum of £27,890, Hull policies, as a rule, are issued for six months, so that the whole of our liabilities under that head are nearly run out. Cargo policies, other than colonial lines, are also all or almost run oil, and the losses arising thereon to the 30th June last are charged in the balance-sheet now before you, and very few claims have been since reported. Now if we consider the payment of these losses without the premiums on the business of the same class coming in to meet them, the re-insurances paid for the American business, and the fact of wool ships, on which we had full lines of £3OOO each, having come to grief this season, we need not be at a loss to account for the unfavorable balance now presented to you. Let us now look to at in another way. Supposing that we had not relinquished so much business, it would only be fair then to assume that the net premiums would have equalled those of the corresponding half-year for 1879, viz., £35,119 instead of £27,890, as shown by the present balance. The profit and loss should then show a credit of £3195, instead of a debit of £4024, and that without entailing one penny more loss. As excepting the American business, we allowed all our other lines to run off in the ordinary way, and by our advices from America to 4th July not a single loss had then occurred in the business since it was reinsured, I am not too sanguine in supposing the ordinary receipts would have reached £35,000. Asia matter of fact, our gross premiums have been considerably over the average, but a very large amount has been paid for reinsurances, which has reduced the net amount, as you see, to £27,890. The item commission, salaries, and charges, £7743, is higher than usual, but I think that the charges account ought to have been credited with the 35 per cent, bonus allowed for the American business, as the account was debited with the cost of placing this business on our books. If this were done the item would be reduced to £IO4O, which would bring it within the recognised 25 per cent, upon our business. Now we have been looking at the dark side of the picture, let us for a little take a retrospective glance at our business, for although we have been unfortunate of late, we have not always been so. Let us go back for a short period, and what do we find ? We find that in 1874 wo saved £9945 19s lid; in 1875, £13,019 12s lOd ; in 1876, £11,424 3s lOd ; in 1877, £16,738 10s 3d ; and in 1878, £7483 13s 4d ; giving a total for five years of £58,612 0s 2d. These figures speak for themselves. But, because the tide of our fortune for a time has turned, are we to bo accused of mismanagement. If the management is bad now, it must have been so before. If good then, it cannot be bad, for it has undergone no change between then and now. I have received notice of an intention to move a series of resolutions at this meeting on this question, and I presume the mover will bo prepared with arguments in support of his view of the case, the merits of which you will be better able to judge when you have heard them delivered, and therefore i will not anticipate, but leave

the questions to be decided on their worth. While on this subject I am tempted to counsel shareholders against ventilating imaginary grievances, either through the Press or at the ordinary meetings of the company. Your directors, individually or collectively, would be glad at any time to give attention to any reasonable request or suggestion emanating from any shareholder. It shareholders knew, as I know, the unsettling tendency which any hostile position on their part has on our officers and agents, as well as on our customers, coupled with the opportunity which it affords to rival companies—opportunities which they are not slow to take advantage of in influencing our business in their own particular directions, I feel sure that they would hesitate in adopting such courses. The insurance field is pretty fully occupied now, and few offices are offered more business than they are able to take, and hence shareholders in their own interests should be careful to do nothing which has a tendency to play into rival hands. X may inform you that in order to relieve the directors from any embarrassing position, and with a view to serve the best interests of the company, the manager has seen fit to place his resignation in their hands, so that at least one of the objects aimed at by the resolutions has been attained. It will bo for you to decide on the others, and X hope that whatever decision you arrive at will settle the questions permanently. It is to be regretted that Mr Reid’s connection with the company is to cease before the changes which I feel will be beneficial t» the company are felt, and which Mr Reid’s successor, whoever he may be, will consequently have the credit of. With these remarks, gentlemen, I beg to move the adoption of the report and balance sheet, which have been circulated.

The Hon. Mr Reynolds moved the adjournment of the meeting for a fortnight, in order to give the directors an opportunity of considering the manager’s rofignation. This was seconded by a shareholder, and a discussion took place on the motion, during which Mr Charles Reid, as a shareholder of the company, claimed a right to express his views on the question. He concluded a long speech by saying that it was useless to adjourn, as he had fully made up his mind to resign.

After some warm discussion the amendment was put and lost. The report was then adopted, and the meeting closed.