FIRE INSURANCES. (Hansard, 1 April 1856)

THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER
submitted a Resolution the purpose of which was to remedy a defect in the law relating to fire insurances. As the law at present stood, the only offices subject to the stamp duty imposed upon fire insurances were those established expressly for transacting that kind of business, but it was held that the word "office" did not include an agency; and therefore, if a foreign company established an agency in London or in any other part of England, that agency could effect insurances without paying the tax. That want he acknowledged to be a manifest defect in the law; but up to the present time no foreign company had attempted on a large scale to effect fire insurances in London. It seemed, however, that a foreign company had now established an agency here with that view, and it is alleged that a considerable number of insurances had been already 334 effected. In order to prevent the unfair competition to which the London offices would be thus subjected, he proposed to found a Bill upon the Resolution which he had placed in the hands of the Chairman with the view of removing the defect in the existing law.

§ MR. HADFIELD
said, he regarded the proposition which had just been made as not only reasonable, but necessary. He regretted, however, that his right hon. Friend had not taken the course of reducing the duty upon fire insurances, because he was confident that the Exchequer lost money by the high duty which was at present imposed. The Government which ran no risk, got 3s. for every 1s. 6d. which the Company got, who ran all the risk; and the result was that insurances were kept down in this country. He gave notice that on sonic future occasion he should move the reduction of the duty from 3s. to 1s. per cent.

§ MR. WILKINSON
thought the alteration only just; but he also agreed in opinion with the hon. Member for Sheffield that a reduction of the duty was the real remedy, because, with the increased facilities and intercourse which now existed with foreign countries, persons would insure abroad in order to escape the high duty which the Government here required. He considered that the present duty pressed with special severity upon the poorer classes of insurers.

§ SIR SAMUEL BIGNOLD
considered that it was perfectly just that foreign agencies should be placed under the same restrictions with respect to the payment of duty as English companies, but he did not think that at the present moment the right hon. Gentleman would be justified in giving up two-thirds of the duty; neither did his experience teach him that to lessen the duty would tend to increase the amount of property insured or the number of insurers, for he recollected when the duty was only 1s. 6d. per cent, and it did not produce that great addition of business to insurance offices which hon. Gentlemen opposite seemed to think would result from its reduction.

§ MR. HANKEY
admitted the propriety of placing foreign agencies on the same footing, but was convinced that the only way of remedying the evil was to reduce the amount of duty, which was a tax upon the more provident portion of the community. At present no more than one-third of the property in the United Kingdom 335 was insured, while in France seven-eighths of the whole property was insured. This he attributed mainly to the restrictions under which insurers laboured in this country.