§ 89. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that certain provisions of the law relating to life insurance and, in particular, to assessment of the surrender values of life insurance policies and to the surrender of such policies is antiquated and inflicts hardship on poor persons 53W who, owing to the high cost of living, are unable to maintain such policies; and if he will set up a committee of inquiry to investigate these matters and make recommendations.
§ Mr. H. BrookeThe law makes no provision about the surrender of ordinary whole life policies. It provides a right to surrender, and prescribes the minimum surrender value of, industrial whole life policies only when the owner goes to live abroad or the life assured has vanished. I understand that in practice most offices offer more than these statutory minimum and make discretionary payments in hardship cases. I hope all offices will continue to treat all such cases reasonably and sympathetically. I am not at present satisfied that any general inquiry is called for.