§ Mr. MORELasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can inform the House what is the total sum collected by the Prudential Assurance Company, Limited, on their War Bond and War Stock policies, industrial branch only; what is the total sum paid in return to the holders of this class of policy in the form of claims that have arisen or surrender values that have been granted to policy holders who have been compelled to discontinue their payments; the number of policies of this class which lapsed or surrendered during 1922, and the amount of premiums which had been paid on the same; what was the total number of such policies in force on the 31st December, 1922; and what was the total amount of risk taken on the policies in force on 31st December, 1922, and how much had been paid in premiums on such policies?
§ Viscount WOLMER:Enquiries have been made and the following particulars have been obtained from the company: The total amount which the company has paid to the assured in respect of War Bond and War Stock policies in the industrial branch, which have become claims either by death or surrender up to the 31st December, 1922, is £988,766. In addition to this amount, free policies have been granted in certain cases in lieu of surrender value. The number of War Bond and War Stock policies which lapsed during the year 1922 was 31,018. Many of the holders of these policies were given the opportunity of reviving such policies without payment of arrears. The number of policies surrendered for cash during the year 1922, on which one or more years' premiums had been paid, was 80,644. Having regard to the large number of contracts involved in industrial assurance it is not possible to state 510W the amount of premiums received in respect of policies which are no longer in force. The total number of War Bond and War Stock policies in force on the 31st December, 1922, was 944,217. The total amount of risk taken on these policies was £25,330,145 of stock or bonds. The total amount paid in premiums on such policies was £9,138,527.