§ 11. Sir Richard Aclandasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the 17s. 6d. expenses allowance received by the insurance companies in respect of each issue of each policy under the War Risks Insurance Act, 1939, is now allowing the insurance companies a profit of about £500,000 per annum, and whether he will consider reducing this by approximately 50 per cent.; and is he willing to receive representations on this matter?
§ Sir A. DuncanI have no reason to believe that the allowances to which my hon. Friend refers are on such a scale as to result in profit to the Board's Agents under the Commodity Insurance Scheme. They were fixed solely with a view to reimbursing to those Agents the expenses actually incurred during the first six months of the operation of the scheme, during which the work was exceptionally heavy. The allowances for the period following the first six months remain to be determined when the volume of work can be more precisely estimated, but, in view of the less onerous nature of the work now required, a substantial reduction in the scale may be expected. I am, of course, ready to receive representations on the subject.