§ 10. Major HUNTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he received the statement showing how a superintendent of an assurance company instructed his agents to get people to take out new policies and let the old ones get into arrears and so become of little or no value; and, in view of the fact that the nineteen industrial assurances companies took £10,000,000 for profits and expenses out of the pockets of our working people in 1913, whilst only paying £7,500,000 in premiums and £9,000,000 for profits and expenses out of their pockets, including those of our soldiers and sailors in 1914, whilst only paying £8,000,000 in premiums, he will consider the advisability of taking action with regard to industrial assurances, in order to prevent these amounts being taken from the people without any benefit to them?
§ Mr. PRETYMANI have seen a copy of a communication from an assurance superintendent which the hon. and gallant Gentleman has been good enough to send me. No suggestion was made in that communication that the agents should allow the premiums on existing policies to get into arrear, bnt it was suggested to the agents that if they were unable to collect premiums which had fallen into arrear they should endeavour to have new policies taken out. With regard to the last part of the question, I would refer the hon. and gallant Gentleman to the answer given to his question on the 27th November.
§ Major HUNTIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the particulars I sent to him amount to the effect that a new policy has to be taken out and the old policy allowed to lapse and to be worth either nothing or very little, and are we to understand that the Government are willing to allow these rich insurance companies to rob the workpeople to this extent without any action being taken?
§ Mr. PRETYMANThe old policies are under the control of the Courts Emergency Powers Act, and they cannot lapse. The claims will be payable on them as well as on the new policy. No doubt there is very large expenditure by the insurance companies, but that is necessary owing to the large number of agents employed.
§ Major HUNTIs the hon. Gentleman aware that these old policies are being allowed to lapse, and that the people lose their money, and are the Government going to allow rich insurance companies to make all this money out of our working people?