The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-23 00:00:00

BRITISH MUTUAL LIFE ASSURANCE

COMPANY.

The sixth annual meeting of this company
was held
Mr. John Gover in the
at Radley's Hotel yesterday ;
chair.
The SECRETARY read the advertisement convening
the meeting.
The CHAIRMAN said that life assurance mighta
but,
t first
sight, appear to some minds
would be found to embrace
dry
anduninteresting,
upon closer examination,.
it
principles of the deepest terest tothe philanthropist, and
every individual who wished for the welfare of his own
connexions and of society at large. If they looked care-
fully into the details of life assurance, they would see
that no institution could tend ;more to remove a large
m a o tof the misery unfortunately existing in the world.
Let them look to the case of a young man living to the
very edge of his income. If he sickened and died
without having assured his life, his wife would probably
have to go into some menial situation, and his family,
if he had any, either become a burden on their friends,
or go to the workhouse. Then they might take the
case of a merchant, medical man, or clergyman in a
similar position. He died, and his beloved wife became
dependent on her elder children—the sons who were
receiving an education to fit them for liberal professions,
were obliged to take much lower situations than they
had a right to expect, and the daughters who had pro-
bably been taught every accomplishment had to become
• teachers, or perhaps sempstresses, or even to accept me-
nial situations, whilst all these evils might have been pre-
vented by life assurance. Now, he would take another
case, one that really occurred in that office. A young
man keeping a shop in the south of London assured his
life for 100/. He could not afford to pay the annual
premium in one sum, but he agreed to pay 10s. a quarter.
He had only just paid his second quarter's premium,
when he was seized with cold and died ; his widow came
to the office, received her 1001., and was now getting a re-
spectable livelihood in her shop ; and yet it was not until
after repeated urgings the young man had been induced
to make that trifling sacrifice which had since been instru-
mental in preserving his family from rain. Though he
considered they could not buy life assurance too dear, he
thought it highly important that they should obtain it at the
cheapest rate. That could be only done through the means
of a, mutual office, which divided all its profits amongst
fie assured. Their office was absolutely and totally
mutual—and they had no interest to pay on capital
which they did not want, and for which they had no
use. In 'Tact, all the capital they possessed arose from
the accumulated receipts of the premiums paid on
policies. Last year had been very trying to life assur-
ance—tine north was pitted against the south, and the
old offices against the young. He was happy, however,
to say that they had come well out of the examination,
and the result of all the trials to which they had been
exF,osed was to do them good rather than injury. All
that had been written and all that had been said had had
nn effect against them, as they were enabled fearlessly
lei appeal to what they had done, and the integrity of
their management. (Cheers.) Theirs was no ordinary
institution—the excess of their new business of 1852
was very far over that of 1851, and, though they had
just completed their sixth year, they were doing an
amount. of business that would bear favourable com-
parison with many offices that boasted of their antiquity.
He felt assured that, let what opposition would come,
they would continue to go on prospering. In six years
this society had attained a position which others had not
done in 30. The fact was the British Empire, though
young in years, was old in business ; and they only
wanted every member to use his best exertions to extend
the business, when this would become a really national
institution. He believed that their future prospects
were such as to completely eclipse. all that had gone
before, and that they must become, what their name
denoted, really the British Empire Mutual Life Assur-
ance Office. He would now call on . the Secretary to
read the report.
The SECRETARY then read the following report :
" The year 1852 has been signalised by a free and
general public discussion of the fundamental require-
ments of the age regarding life assurance offices. The
discussion has resulted in an unanimous public convic-
tion that life offices, which unite in the highest degree
the convenience, the advantage, and the safety of the
public, are entitled to the largest share of public favour,
wad will acquire the greatest accessions of public business.
This conviction has been followed by a demonstration
the most unanswerable, in favour of those offices which
unerringly secure these vast benefits, by being based
upon the following great principles :—That each assured
member has of inalienable right a complete participation
(in the society to which he belongs) ; in the receipt of
the entire profits ; in the knowledge of the affairs of the
Society ; involving the management of the society. It
is the satisfaction of the members of the British Empire
Mutual Life Assurance Company that these are the
principles on which this society was founded, on which
its operations have been carried out, and on which 1,400
new members have joined the society during the year.
It is peculiarly gratifying that so searching an ordeal
should result so unequivocally in favour of this society,
the amount of new business being much greater, both in
numbers of new members and amounts of sums assured,
than in any former year, and such as will bear honour-
able comparison with the first of European life offices.
The steady progress of the company's business, unchecked
from the outset, is shown by the fact that in the first
year, 1847, the number of policies issued was 257, as-
suring 49,998/.; in the second year, 1848, the number of
additional policies amounted to 311, assuring 48,0391.;
in the third year, 1849, there were 708 new policies,
assuring 107,6291., in the fourth year, 1850, the new
policies amounted to 809, assuring 136,365/. ; in the
fifth year, 1851, the new policies amounted to 1,065, as-
suring 211,272/. ; and in the last or sixth year, there
were issued 1,400 new policies, assuring 281,6871. ;
making a total of 4,550 policies issued, and assuring
834,990/. The new business of the year consists of
1,400 life policies, assuring 281,6871., the annual pre-
rfliums thereon being above 9,100/. 51 annuities have
also been issued, of which eight have been immediate
annuities, on which 1,3801. 18s. ld. have been received.
By the last year's new business the annual revenue of
the company, from premiums on life business, has been
increased, after deducting forlapsed policies, about 8,358/.,
and the amount assured by the new life policies in 1852
is above 33 per cent. more than those of the year 1851.
The di-vision of profits declared at the early part of the
year has given complete satisfaction, and has, doubtless,
contributed to that highpublic favour with which the office
is regarded, The members are already aware, by the public
papers, tttat, in accordance with the wish of the
memberrl, expressed at the special meeting, held in
November, 1851, the Legislature granted a special act
of Parliament, by which various important privileges
have, been conferred upon this society. Thirty-ia mem-
bers have died during the year, and the sums payable
for assurances and bonuses under their policies have
v.mounted to 6,544/. 9s. 2d. It is satisfactory to ob-
serve that this amount is much less than the sum pro-
vided for the current deaths by the tables. The num-
ber of life policies in force on December 31st, 1852,
after deducting those which had terminated by lapsing
OY: death, was 3,955, assuring the amount of 732,605/.,
fhe annual income thereon being about 23,8091. 13s. 3d.
After payment of all expenses and claims, the company
has accumulated the sum of 45,831/. 12s. Bd., the
whole of which (the balance in hand of course excepted)
is invested on approved securities. The diiectors feel
they cannot too forcibly impress upon the members that
the one vital characteristic of this society is, that it is
the members' own society, and it is they who must ex-
tend it till its benefits are a household word throughout
the British empire, and it is their living co-operation
with. the directors which must place it in the first and
foremost rank of life assurance institutions."
The Rev. C. H. KEEN moved the adoption of the re-
port and balance-sheet, and congratulated the members
on the prosperous state of the society.
Mr. W. J. COOPER, Mayor of Canterbury, seconded
the motion. He was satisfied that the time would come
when the British Empire Mutual Life Assurance Office
would become the most successful and important in the
kingdom. Their society had arrived at its present posi-
tion without the aid of aristocratic names, purely by the
energy and business habits of plain business men. The
importance of life assurance and the uncertainty of life
was recently shown by an event which took place in
the city with which he had the honour to be connected. A
young man, the partner of his nephew, proposed to assure
his life for 1,0001., and passed the medical examination,
when his father stepped in and said, "Postpone it for a
year, you may want the 20/. in business." In threemonths
after, the young man was thrown from his horse and
killed on the spot. Fortunately he was not a married
man, but the 1,000/. was lost to the father—as, luckily
for the office, in consequence of that father's advice the
P°li,.eY Was not completed. They had now issued 4,550
policies •
and numberless were the persons who might
have
.abless the British Empire Mutual Life Office, for
sirmothegrsthmfrom destitution, through their fathers and
(Cheers.) having been induced to become members of it.
The Rev. J. Wiezeze, y ,supported the mo-
of Lnn
tion. He had attended that meeting, having been
,de-
on to do so by a meeting of the Lynn members, held
on Friday last, to
distrust e e how things were going on, though
the,y no of its position ;and he should; go hack to his constituents at Lynn and tell them, in a Nor-
Tolk phrase, " that everything was fair and abate-
board." (Cheers.)
In reply to questions from Mr. 'Till, it was stated that
the borrowers were generally well satisfied by the easy
terms on which they could get money from that office.
The terms were pretty well the same as those of building
societies--the borrowers being much better enabled to
pay back the loans out of their income by isstahnents
than tlley would be to put it by so as to pay the whole
anaoTant at once. In the first year (1847), when money
wan scarce, it was so lent as to produce to the Society
from eight to nine per cent.—taking into consideration
t'ne advantage obtained by loans being returned by in-
stalments. On the following years it was calculated in
such a manner as to return them about seven per cent.,
and last year the directors bad advanced it so as to re-
turn them only five per cent. The premiums paid for a
policy of assurance was nat, in point of fact, additional
interest, as, even when the loan was paid off, the bor-
rower could, and generally did, continue his policy.
Independently of which, a borrower was not compelled
to assure his life exceptine, in cases where the security
offered was purely personal.
The report was then unanimously adopted, and votes
of thanks given to the chairman, directors, and other
etrie,e,rB.

Th-HURNFNG OF WITBY THEATRIL—The nhabitants
"labs' were aroused from their slumbersi of
on Thursday
night-fast by the outbreak of a destructive fire on
the
pretrases known as the theatre, situate in Baxter's-gate,
which, with a tavern connected with it, soon fella prey
to the ravages of the flames. No amusements have, it
Efiems, been enacted in the theatre for several weeks ;
the fire there is no
tavern. The doubt originated in the bar of theproperty burned down is insured in th•
!County Fire-office.