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Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2488, 21 June 1888, Page 2

Thk Government Life Insurance Department spares no effort to popularise the oflice, Amongst the latest facilities offered to intending insurers is a plan which enables them to opeu an account at the Post Office Savings Bank, into which may be paid a weekly proportion of the quarterly premiums. At the end of the quarter the insured depositor signs an order to the postmaster to pay the amount of the premium to the Insurance Department and debit the bank account with the withdrawal. This affords an admirable convenience to people of small means, or in receipt of weekly wages to make provision for themselves and their families. There is, however, one small drawback to this method which, if removed, would considerably advance the Department in popular favour, and remove whatever pretence might be put forward by those improvidently inclined for not insuring. By the present arrangement an insurer must pay the first quarter's premium in advance in full before he can avail himself of the weekly Post office account system, and before the Department will undertake any risk on his life. There

are a great many people in receipt of small incomes who live up to it and have no cash to spare for a lump payment however desirous they may he of taking advantage of the benefits held out to them. This slight difficulty could be removed by the Department accepting proposals from this class of insurers and allowing them to pay the weekly instalments at once into the Post Office in order to make up the first quarterly premium, which, when completed and transferred by order, the risk would then be taken and the policies cowe into force. Should a proposer die in the meantime, the amount of his deposits would, of course, be returned to his representative?. If this facility could be extended in the way we propose, there would no doubt be a very large increase of business to the Insurance Department.