Tar attacks that have been made from time to time in late years on the terms of business of the English Life Assurance Companies have not been without effect. Many, if not all of them are now more liberal in their dealing with their customers, their rates have been lowered and more reasonable arrangements are now made in regard to policies which under the old system would have been forfeited for nonpayment of premiums, The premiums on the lives of people residing in the East are also lower, partly owing to the healthier condition of most of the places where Europeans live, but chiefly to the sharp competition of these times making it impossible for any office to maintain its old exorbitant terms. We drew attention a few years since to the anomalies existing in the rates of minus charged by different offices for residence here, and we soon fonnd from communications which were privately made to us that all we had said against the extortionate rates and apparently arbitrary exactions, for liberty ide in Chins, fell far short of Wo had very little doubt thatisome. of the offices had"compelled persons who were insured them, and whose avocations or interests brought them out here, to pay what the offices demanded or have their policies of insurance forfeited. The mode of busines then and the terms of the English insurance companies contrasted very unfavourably with those offered by American offices of undoubted standing. The same unfavourable comments as we had made on the Home Offices were made in such papers as the Economist, which used some of the statements in our pages to enforce its views. Since then the American offices have made a serious inroad on the business of the English ones, and the latter have been obliged to meet this by still farther liberalising their terms of business. Life Insurance offices at home have too long treated their customers as the Chairman of the railway company whom we quoted the other day said the public traffic should be dealt with—compelled them to pay as much as they will bear.
Various novelties in Life Assurance have been offered in late years, and the latest is one which is not only an extension of what have hitherto regarded as the legitimate business of the companies, but which seems to trench on the field hitherto occupied by Land and Building associations. By [means of the facilities offered by the latter payment for houses may be spread over a number of years, Of course this mode of purchase is costly, but the method suits people of moderate incomes who wish to have houses of their own, What the Atlas Company offers to do is to effect Mortgage Insurances, the sums advanced under them to be repaid by quarterly instalments extending over ten or more years, The scheme is thus described:—Thus, if an investor in house property can pay steadily about 1402. per annum he can obtain from this office 1,0002. at once by pledge of his title deeds, and, at the end of ten years, ho will have paid off the whole of the sam borrowed. The assuring office advances 70 to 80 per cent. of the value of the property, and retains possession of the security which the borrower has pledged until the end of the ten years. But in the event of his death before the expiry of the ten years the property is at once handed over to those in whose favour his life has been insured. Under this tem it is contended, and apparently i a justice, that the head of the family will feel secure that, should he be prematurely removed, "so far from those dependent upon him being burdened by debt, they will, just at the time when they most require such b assistance, become owners of their home and thus will at once be in possession of a valuable property instead of a heavy liability." Another office, the Rock, seems to go beyond the Atlas' in the new business which it offers to undertake as it will insure trustees as well as investors in property. Trustees are offered what is called an Investment Security po-hey assuring the return of a fixed sum. It has been objected to this new business that it is not desirable that insurance companies' fands should be largely invested in mortgages on houses and land. The immense decline which has taken place in the value of them daring the last ten-years, the impossibility of realising some descriptions of such property on almost any terms seem' to give force to this objection. But land must always have some value, and those who bay, oz lend money on mort. gages enif, getting a margin on: the present value, are in a far safer position than those who ten to twenty years ago dealt in land or securities connected with it. Besides by the Atlas' plan the security is getting better: every qpartor that the repayments are made.
ud the insured knows that in the. event of his death his family will have house over their heads,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.