HC Deb 14 May 1908 vol 188 cc1331-3
MR. J. MACVEAGH

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the decision in the King's Bench in the case of a domestic servant in Preston, named Brown, against the Britannic Assurance Company, Limited, in which it has been held that the policy holder having no insurable interest could not recover; whether he is aware that the County Court Judge found that the plaintiff was an innocent party, whilst the defendant company knew from the beginning that it was an illegal contract; whether his attention has been called to the statement of the Judges of the King's Bench that insurance agents are in the habit of inducing innocent people to enter into these policies; and whether, having regard to the prevalence of these practices, and to the fact that industrial insurance companies have extracted from working people hundreds of millions of pounds by lapsed policies on which they did not pay any surrender value, he will cause an inquiry to be held.

I beg also to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to a recent summons by Annie O'Hare, 4, Kingston Street, Belfast, against the Liverpool Victoria Legal Friendly Society for the amount due on a life policy; whether he is aware that the company successfully pleaded that they were not responsible for the misrepresentations of their agents, and that the magistrates passed censure upon the circumstances; and whether, in view of the frequency of such cases, he will now cause an inquiry to be held into the operations of insurance companies amongst the working classes, including women's and children's death-dividing clubs and kindred bodies.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. CHURCHILL,) Dundee

My attention has been called to the cases referred to in the two Questions of the hon. Member. The whole matter is now receiving the earnest consideration of the Board of Trade in consultation with the Treasury, which is the Department concerned with friendly societies. I shall be glad to receive any further information on this subject which the hon. Member is in a position to supply.

MR. J. MACVEAGH

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the gravity of this question was recognised as far back as 1891, when the Unionist Government introduced a Bill seeking to deal with some of the evils, and can we not expect the right hon. Gentleman to reintroduce that Bill?

MR. CHURCHILL

I do not think I can undertake to introduce legislation at this moment.

MR. RAMSAY MACDONALD (Leicester)

Has the right hon. Gentleman considered the advisability of appointing a Departmental Committee to consider the whole question?

MR. CHURCHILL

Perhaps the hon. Member for Leicester will put down a Question at an interval of a week or ten days, and I shall then be able to give him a little more information on the subject.

MR. JOWETT (Bradford, W.)

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the advisability of calling for a Return from the various industrial insurance companies, showing the extent to which they gain financially by reason of lapsed policies?

MR. CHURCHILL

That is a very large and complicated question. Perhaps the hon. Member will give me an opportunity of going into details by putting down a Question on the subject.

MR. J. MACVEAGH

Will the right hon. Gentleman do something to keep these insurance sharks from England out of Ireland? There are some things you have in England we do not want there.