25 JULY 1931, Page 27

GUARANTEES PROVIDED.

Assuming the object aimed at be the guarantee of a quarterly income of £40 until the child reaches the age of 20, then if the father died immediately after effecting the policy 80 quarterly payments would be payable, or a total. of £3,200 spread over the course of 20 years. Every quarter the father survives reduces the total by £40. If the father survives one year the total payments would be reduced to £3,040. Survival for 5 years reduces the total payments to 12,400 ; for 10 years to 11,600 ; and for 15 years to £800. The chances of the larger amounts being called for are considerably less than those of the smaller amounts, and in many cases no payment will be called for at all beyond the fixed sum assured. This explains why such a large amount of protection can be granted for such a small premium.

The chief points that should be considered in making a choice between the different policies were discussed in an article in the last Insurance Supplement of the Spectator, and in view of the interest evinced by the public it is proposed on the present occasion to give some figures. While all the schemes are based on the principle set out in the preceding paragraph they vary in detail and are not easily comparable. The reason for the astonishing variety is that the contingent temporary annuity can be combined with most of the older types of life assurance. Indeed, the Atlas, the National Provident and the Scottish Provident keep the income benefit separate and distinct and offer it as a supplement to their present tables.

This simplifies matters, enabling proposers to choose the class of policy that in other respects suits them best. It also enables them to see exactly what is the extra cost of the benefit. Having made things clearer in this way the Atlas and the National Provident import fresh variations of their own by making the period during which the addi- tional premiums for the benefit are payable differ from the period during which the income annuities may be payable.