"Of the whole number of persons who have commenced to pay premiums, 8 have allowed their policies to lapse by default, and 14, having defaulted, have on application been re-admitted. In no case, however, have I found it necessary to impose the prescribed fine for default.
"The total sum insured at the present time is 60,874l., and the gross annual premium income, exclusive of the sums received in single payments, is 1,924l.
"Of the whole number of proposers, 866 have been males, and 68 females. In a very few cases it has been necessary to charge an extra premium for extra risk, arising out of somewhat defective health; and in the case of a few married women, who were pregnant at the date of the insurance, it has been thought right to add to the first premium, but only to the first premium, a special premium of 10s. per 100l. to cover the risk attendant on confinements.
“No deaths have occurred up to the present time amongst the persons insured.”
Annuities.
"Since the commencement of business, 238 proposals for the purchase of Annuities have been received; of these, 4 have been dropped, 4 are under consideration, and 230 have been accepted. Of the proposals which have been accepted, 150 have been for the purchase of Immediate Annuities, the amount of annuity purchased being 3,430l., and the purchase money being 39,774l. Of the remainder, 15 were for the purchase, by immediate payments, of Deferred Annuities, the amount of deferred annuity purchased being 232l., and the amount of purchase money paid down being 1,543l. The remainder, 65, were for the purchase of Deferred Annuities by annual or more frequent payments, the amount in course of purchase being 1,368l., and the amount of purchase money annually payable being 759l. Of the 238 intending annuitants, 103 were males and 129 were females. The remaining six proposals were for insurances on joint male and female lives.
"While the Government Insurance and Annuity Act was under consideration by the Legislature, an opinion was expressed that Friendly Societies which had undertaken to provide, in return for a single subscription, sick pay, old age pay, and death pay, would do well to make arrangements for the transfer of their old age and death risks to the Government, by payment, of course, of a proper consideration, and to confine themselves to dealing with the liabilities contingent on sickness. I have recently received a proposal from a large Friendly Society for the transfer of its old age risks to the Government, and the terms of the arrangement are now under consideration. I am informed, moreover, that other proposals of this kind are likely shortly to be made.
“On the whole, I am able to conclude my observations on this subject by stating, that the Scheme framed for the conduct of Insurance and Annuity business has worked smoothly and well; that the checks established for the protection of the Government have hitherto proved sufficient for their purpose; that the advantages of the measure are gradually becoming known to the classes for whose benefit it was devised, and that, looking to all the circumstances of the case, and the steady and continued growth of the business, the success of the measure may be regarded as established.”