The Report of the Departmental Committee on Industrial Assurance, published
on Thursday, confirmed a widespread belief that the industrial assurance companies and collecting societies are working on a bad system which promotes extrava- gance and waste. The Committee found that- 44 per cent. of the total premiums was absorbed by expenses, commis:done, and dividends. Most of the premiums lapsed within a short time. In ten offices nearly 5,000,000 policies lapsed in 1913, and four-fifths of these were not a year old. The explanation is that the agents and collectors receive such high commissions on new policies that it does not pay them to spend their time in inducing policy-holders to continue their weekly premiums. The Com- mittee declared that many of the societies were conducted in the interests of the agents. The Committee recommended that agents should be deprived of commission on new business, but should receive minimum wages, with commission on all sums collected above a fixed amount. There will be general agreement with the Committee's conclusion that the industrial societies should be placed under the control of the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies, and that the law should afford the policy- holders greater protection.
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