INSURANCE OR ASSURANCE.

Kumara Times, Issue 2045, 19 March 1883, Page 2

INSURANCE OR ASSURANCE.

The Editor does not, necessarily, adopt the opinions expressed by correspondents.

[to the editor.] Sir —Be kind enough in your next issue to settle a dispute between several of your subscribers; i.e., I maintain that H. Clapcott, Esq., representing the Government, should use the word assurance instead of insurance; or, in other words, I insure, he assures. Ana I right or wrong? Nemises. [You are wrong in signing “ Nemises” for “ Nemesis,” if you are adopting as your signature that of the goddess of that name. With regard to the wordsinsurance and assurance, insure and assure, they have both a precisely similar first meaning, which is to make sore or secure, and, in the matter of life insurance or assurance, either words can at any time be used with a precisely similar meaning or effect. We, however, regard the word insurance as the more emphatic of the two as a name for any company or Government undertaking life, fire, and marine policies in hand; yet there are numbers of institutions which adopt the latter title, to wit— Atlas Assurance Company, British Empire Mutual Life Assurance Company, British Equitable Assurance Company. The Economic Life Assurance Society, Clerical, Medical and General Life Assurance Society, General Assurance Company, Commercial Union Assurance Company. Equitable Life Assurance Society, Law Life Assurance Society, Australian Mutual Provident Society, for granting Assurances on Lives, Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society, with others we could mention, all. insuring against losses by life, fire, or marine extremities; whilst the majority of companies favour the word insurance, as— Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company, The Fire Insurance Association, The Lancashire Insurance Company, London and Provincial Fire Insurance Company, New York Life Insurance Company, North British and Mercantile Insurance Company, and The Caledonian, Church of England Life and Fire, City of London Fire, The Eagle, Hand-in-hand Fire and Life, National Fire, Pelican, The Royal Farmer’s Fire, Life and Hail, The Queen, Royal, Scottish Imperial Companies; also, the New Zealand Government Life Insurance Department. But they ill have the same object, and the agent would be quite as right to say he will insure your life for so much or assure your life for so much ; or that he will insure you or your heirs so much in the Government Life Insurance Department, or assure you or your heirs so much. The words are synonymous. Doubtless the directors in all the above companies are talented men, and have considered well the two words insurance and assurance. The objects are precisely the same.— Ed, K.T.]