19 MAY 1939, Page 48

LONDON AND MANCHESTER ASSURANCE

Mr. A. H. Dawes, chairman of the London and Manchester Assurance Company, announced at the meeting on Wednesday that the actuarial valuation of the company's industrial branch disclosed a record surplus of £419,662, and that out of this the company is repeating bonuses at the former rates. He showed that the expense ratio in the industrial branch had fallen by 1.42 per cent. to 36.84 per cent, and in the ordinary branch by 2.2 per cent. to 12.8 per cent. The cost of service in the industrial department, he explained, was naturally higher than in the ordinary department owing to the system of weekly premium collections at the homes of the assured, but he claimed that without that system it would not be possible for the working-classes to enjoy the benefits of life assurance.