THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1908. TOO LOW.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9164, 12 August 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1908. TOO LOW.

The State Fire Insurance Department, one of our grsat "Socialistic" institutions—and established to smash up an alleged monopoly, or combine, or ring, or something of the kind —is not making large profits, and the General Manager is not satisfied. The State office succeedsd in lowering the rate 3 somewhat, but the complaint now is made by the State office that the rate 3 are "too low." Hence it would appear that the State office is about, to develop into just an ordinary business institution, like the private fire offices doing business in ths Dominion, and one is tempted to ask "what on earth was the use of the State entering into fire insurance business to accomplish such an end?*' The fact of the matter is that in this country we are State mad. Where the mania will end it is difficult to say, but possibly a speedy cure will be effected when there is a pronounced scarcity of money. It is impossible to establish a department without money, and, in any case, no one. would take any interest in it, if there were no expenditure connected with it. The Government can argue "while wo can borrow we can establish departments, and while we establish departments we are pleasing the people hugely."

It coes not, of course, matter in the least what the financial condition of the country may be, and it really matters little, if the establishment itself is injudicious, whether such department is well or badly managed. The State Fire Insurance Office, however, appears to be a well managed institution. The latest annual report relates to the third financial year, and ttie net income amounted to £23,194 13s, while in the first year of its existence (1905) the net income was only £13,127 lis 9d. The Gtneral Manager, however, declares that the rates of premium for fire insurance in New Zealand are too low, and urges that this is shown by the fact that the results attained by the State Office on its operations during the past three years show a profit result of only £1,566 17s sd. In further support of his views, the General Manager points out that the State Fire Office has now to pay its pro rata share of the insurance companies' contributions towards the purchase and maintenance of fire brigades wherever the same are established and operating under "The Fire Brigades Act, 1907," and this additional charge will range from 5 per cent, to 7J per cent, of the premiums received at each centre where a fire brigade working under the Act is in operation. Obviously the rates of premium are toe low and thus it comes about that the office that lowered those rates, with a great flourish of trumpets, is now anxious to increase them. Five years hence it will probably be most interesting to compare the rates that will then be charged with those that were ruling five years ago.