Star.
London, England, 1821-11-03 00:00:00

FIRE AND LIFE INSURANCE.

The prudential act of providing against the cala-
mity of Fire, and the still greater and monekertain
calamity which a family 'suffers by the death of its
chief supporter, is becoming so general, that it is
necessary the Public should be enabled to estimate
the relative merit of the schemes which are offered
to their choice. These schemes vary from each other
in their minuter details, but it appears that they are
all reducible under one or other of the four following
heads :-15t. CONTRIBUTIONSIIIP, or UNION Socie-
ties; in these Societies, those who desire Insurance,
club together : by their deposit of premium they
raise a fund, out of which they indemnify themselves,
but each man is individually liable, in his whole pro-
perty, fit any deficiency that may occur. If there
be a surplus of profit, they divide it; and this they
ought to da wholly, and at short intervals, for the
members for the time being, who run all the risk,
ought to have all the profit, when there be any. Any
reserve of what they win, would he a sacrifice of
their property to benefit a succession of strangers,
' who took no part in their risk. But, dividing in this
way, a partial run of losses sooner or later creates a
deficiency, whence it is that Societies of this kind
seldom last many years, before they break up through
di.appnintment, and insolvency.
To obviate these objections, CommeactAt. COM-
PANIES have taken up Insurance as a business—they
offer large permanent capitals in guarantee of their
entragements—they take all the risk and all the 1
,rofit—the first consideration, security, is effectually
accomplished on this plan, but the attraction of a
rno.n is wantin7.
A third principle has been elicited by modern in-
Felinity in these Societies: it is that of :flaking all the
shareholders insure to a certain amount, at all times,
whetbe• they have real occasion to insure or not. This
;s a eTrain way tfcreating a business for an establish.
other wise might have nothing to do:
the apnea, ance- of business pleases the unreflecting,
with the chew of profits arising out of their own
nee.'less 64C rifices. But so far as the compulsion has
effect. it is .a lasting embarrassment and loss to the
-hareliolders; for if a shareholder be in want of an
insurance, he will naturally prefer his own Office,
without compulsion, provided its plan be equally as
beneficial, and it he as well conducted as others; but
if he have no want of an insurance, it is ridiculous for
him to compel himself to incur the expense. As well
might a company of apothecaries be formed under a
condition that each member should take a given
quantity if physic every day, to create a business.—
The folly of this scheme is made apparent by the
event. Most of the Insurance Offices which have been
set up within the last fifteen or sixteen years, have
had the compulsion to insure foisted on their share-
holdeis. and in consequence the shares in all such
Offices have continued at a discount, which discount, in
son.e instances, has been 60 per cert.! others have
broken lip alroge her. The Members of the Birming-
ham Life Office, formed on the above principle, paid
the !'trident Office £20,000 to relieve them
from the risks they had undertaken, and the London
C-mmercial Life Office paid the same Office, £lOOO

to kin it.
The fourth principle is that of combining the attrac-
tion n; i:etnrn of premium yielded by,offices on the
Union principle, with the more important considera-
tifen of solid security, afforded by Offices having per-
manent capitals of large amount, in addition to the
&coning funds arising from the premiums. This
princi=le ha, hen applied by the COUNTY FIRE OF-
' VICE and PROVIDENT LIFE OFFICE, with uncommon
success. The original members formed permanent
capital. of ample amount, and all the members, new
as well as old, share the profits equaly, according to
their respective contributions. These Offices impose
no compulsion on their members to insure—yet the
increase of their business exceeds all precedent, and
their shares have been as invariably at a great pre-
rnium, as the other Offices of a similar and more
recent date, have been at a great discount.
After all, the character and conduct of the manage-
ment of these Offices is a subject of chief importance
to persons who seek security. There are Offices which
are remarkable for turning claimants round whenever
they can, and for the disgraceful exposures they have
sustained in Courts of Law and Equity, the* ought to
be carefully avoided.

Dunbar House is at this moment a scene present-
ing a dreary blank. The amiable Countess of LAU-
DERDALE departed this life on Wednesday evening,
about sir o clock, to the inexpressible grief of her
Noble Earl and surrounding relatives and friends.
Her melancholy dissolution has, alas" been attended
with unfortunate circumstances. The Countess had
just taken dinner, and had retired to her chamber for
the purpose, and was on the eve of enjoying her cus-
tom of an hopes repose on her couch by the fire-side,
when a coal suddenly emitted a spark on her muslin
frill, which, immediately igniting, disseminated its
ravages throughout her dress with overwhelming ra-
pidity. Although every assistance was as prompt as
seemingly effective, all efforts to subdue them proved
abortive, until the most excruciating agony had pre-
dicted the fatal result which ensued in half an hoar.
Her Ladyship was the daughter of the late ANTHONY
Tonn, in about her .57th year. and had for a consi-
derable time past relinquished the busy haunts of
fashionable, for the more solid comforts of domestic
life; in the full enjoyment of them, however, has all
powerful fate thus interposed her inscrutable decree.
In hef Ladyship, the elegance of genius, taste, and
manners, never failed to excite general admiration—i
whilst the virtues of piety, benevolence, and charity,
commanded the respect and love of all who posses-
sed the honour of her acquaintance.
Crane-Hall, in Buckinghamshire, the seat of B. R.
MARSAVIC, Esq. was totally destroyed by fire, at two
o'clock on Thursday morning: the flames were so
rapid in the dead of the night, that the inmates had
a difficulty in escaping. The fire began in the laun-
dry, a wing of the house, but not detached, and must
have been occasioned by some clothes left to dry
taking fire. The interior of the house, together with
the furniture, were demolished in less than an hour.
Wednesday night, as a pour labouring man and his
wife, the titter in a state of pregnancy, were passing
by the Angel public-house, at Islington, not pet-
ceiving the Hap of the cellar at the next house open,
the unfortunate woman fell down into the cellar, a
depth of eight feet, and was taken up nearly lifeless,
having broken two of her sibs.