The Royal Insurance Company have issued a very nice pocket-book
and almanack, like other pocket-books and almanacks in most respects, but specially devoted to spreading the statistics and terms of their own society. The report for 1866 is included, which states that in the Fire branch the conflagrations had been so large as to yield a net loss on the year of 28,1631., and this, though the fire premiums of the -year had reached the immense sum of 447,2711., more than 33,0001. in advance of the premiums of the previous year. The fire business had, how- ever, been improving during the last six months, and the Life business seems to be thoroughly sound, yielding a large and generally an in- creasing reserve fund every year. On the whole, the directors were possibly justified in continuing the old rate of dividend and bonus— together, 7s. per share—though we should have thought a reduced dividend would have been wiser, considering that the payment of the dividend exhausts the amount at the credit of profit and loss standing at the end of the year 1866. As no encroachment on the reserve is made, and as the last six months are more favourable, the directors may, no doubt, fairly defend their rather sanguine policy. Their report seems thoroughly frank.
Previous page
