§ 3 and 4. Mr. SHORTasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) what 1242 action, financial or otherwise, he proposes to take to safeguard the interests of those policy-holders of the City Life Assurance Company who are not covered by the offer of another insurance company;
(2) what action, if any, his Department took to call the attention of the directors of the City Life Assurance Company to the company's financial position; and what assurances were given by the directors relative thereto?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMEOn the 19th December, 1922, the Board of Trade wrote to the Chairman of the City Life Assurance Company, Limited, stating that, having regard to the serious financial position disclosed in the company's valuation which had been received on the 14th December, a meeting of the shareholders should at once be called to consider the position and that in the meantime the company should cease to incur new liabilities by the further issue of policies. The complete correspondence with the company, between October, 1922, and April, 1923, will be found at pages 27–35 of Part II of the Return relating to assurance companies which was published in June of this year. A copy of this Return is in the Library. As I informed the hon. Member on the 24th July, in answer to his previous question, an order for the compulsory liquidation of the company was made on the 17th July under which the Official Receiver who is an officer of the Board of Trade is provisional liquidator. A full investigation of the conduct of this company's affairs will be made by the Official Receiver. The value of the policies not taken over by another assurance company will be fixed by the Court in accordance with the rules laid down in the Sixth Schedule to the Assurance Companies Act, 1909. Until the assets have been realised it is not possible to state what amount will be available to meet the claims of such policy-holders.
§ Mr. SHORTHas the right hon. Gentleman's Department any power to prevent this company from continuing?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMENo, that is the difficulty. We have taken some power under the Industrial Assurance Act of this year.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYWhen was the attention of the Board of Trade first called to the financial position of the company?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMEWhen the company failed to make its regular return of accounts, which, I think, was due in June of last year. The company was then prosecuted by the Board of Trade and the accounts were received in December.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that attention was called to this company in writing, three years ago, by a constituent of my own?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMENo.
§ Mr. TURNERIf people are sent to prison for fraud under the Health Instance Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act, will anybody be sent to prison about this matter?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMEThere will be a full investigation of the matter in liquidation and obviously I could not answer a question of that kind.