REFUGE ASSURANCE
In rather different circumstances the Refuge Assurance Company has also done better than its strictly contractual requirements. This company's pre-war policies, unlike those of many other companies, did contain a restrictive clause before the war in both the industrial and ordinary branches covering death on active service. These restric- tions have been suspended for the time being on pre-war policies, said the chairman, Mr. J. Wilcock Holgate, on Tuesday. He added that restrictive conditions as to deaths from war causes had been inserted in the policies issued since the outbreak of war.
While he -outlined this line of action on war death claims, Mr. Holgate also pointed out that the company could not assess the effect of the war on the future of life assurance. To what extent would they be affected by war mortality, higher taxation, increased costs and reduced new business? Those questions were, he said, at present unanswerable, so that the policy to be adopted must be one of caution and conservation of resources. He gave an example of the results of increased taxation on the interest earned on their insurance funds: The net yield on the combined ordinary and industrial funds fell last year by ss. 7d. per cent. to £3 as. per cent., while the gross yield fell by only is. rd. to £4 13s. rod. per cent.
Nevertheless, the insurance companies have been fortu- nate in their investment policies. The Refuge still had at December 3i st an appreciation on its ordinary branch investments which left the investment reserve of £2,00o,000 intact. In the industrial branch there was a small depre- ciation which was well covered by investment reserves and which has since disappeared with the rise in security prices.
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