AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL PROVIDENT SOCIETY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9072, 24 April 1908, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL PROVIDENT SOCIETY.

ANOTHER PROSPEROUS YEAR.

Received April 23, 10.13 a.m. SYDNEY, April 23. The fifty-ninth annual report of the Australian Mutual Provident Society, for presentation at the annual meeting of members on May Ist, has just been issued. The amount of New business transacted during the year again constitutes a record, being in excess of last year's total by no less than £278,000. Polices to the number of 17,797 were issued, assurirtg £4,863,553, and yielding annual premiums amounting to JSI62JS3 17s 6d, the net gain in the volume of business in force being as much as £2,568,000. In the industrial department 16,648 policies were issued, assuring £506,629, with annual premiums of £31,163 12s. The claims by death amounted to £763,991, including £231,253 for bonus additions, the experience in this respect being again exceedingly favourable. The usual searching investigation was made in the mortgage securities, and a sum of £5,537 has been written off the value of foreclosed properties, etc , the value of office premises being also reduced to the extent of £21,181. Reference is also made to the suit brought by Mr G. R. Campbell to restrain the board from proceeding with the extension of the society's operations to j the United Kingdom. Mr Campbell having appealed to the Privy Council, the case was heard on February 20th, but at the date of the report \ judgment had not been delivered. From the report of the actuary, Mr Richard Teece, F.1.A., F.F.A., it appears that all participating policies issued prior to 1903 have been valued as heretofore at 3£ per cent, while those issued since that date,, have been valued at 3 per cent. The amount of cash surplus available for division is £700,812, which provide reversionary bonus amounting to about £1,265,000. The rate of expense is again exceedingly moderate, being under 9 per cent, on the total receipts of the year. The effective rate of interest realised on the investments shows at: increase over- the previous year, and now stands at £4 9s lid per cent, a figure which must be admitted to be highly satisfactory. The report on this occasion contains the voluminous returns required by the various local Acts of Parliament, and embodies a large i mass of valuable and interesting information.