40 BEJU>IUM - INSUiCANCK AND TKKIFT 



1903 law do not apply. On September 30th., 1913 the policies issued by the 

 Caisse Commune d'A<isurancedesCultivtiteurs Beiges wereq, ^8^ axidre-pTesented 

 158,548 hectares and also total earnings amounting to 8,016,043 frs ; and 

 the Assurance /Ign'co/* had issued 20,288 policies, representing 259,963 ha., 

 and earnings to the amount of 6,538,530 frs., as those engaged in agricul- 

 ture and small rural industries can insure in these mutual societies for a 

 certain percentage of their earnings. 



We think that in the interest of mutual insurance this dual system at 

 present existing ought to disappear and the ordinary societies should be 

 authorized to undertake all accident insurance risks, with the right to act 

 as commercial societies, authorized to undertake insurance risks in conform- 

 ity with the 1903 law, that is to say, to keep separate books for the purpose. 



The present dual system complicates the work, increases the expend- 

 iture, and is an obstacle to the development and permanence of the organiz- 

 ation; up to the present the ordinary agricultural societies have done a good 

 business in Belgium, but if one day they experience losses and are obliged 

 to call for additional premiums, it might very well happen that the 

 insurance societies working side by side with them, with the same members 

 and the same management would realise large profits. 



A commercial society undertaking every kind of accident insurance 

 may compensate for losses in one branch by gains in another. 



Further, from the point of view of the supervision exercised over the 

 societies approved by the Department of Industry and lyabour, this solution 

 would be very advantageous. It would, in fact, preclude the possibility 

 of fraud; supervision evidently cannot be exercised over the insurance 

 societies in connection with, but outside of, the ordinary society. Kow 

 since the two kinds of society have the same board of management and 

 often the same office, it is sufficiently easy to conceal the irregularities 

 committed by the ordinary society ; if there were only one society, super- 

 vision would be far easier. 



As regards the organization of the mutual agricultural accident insur- 

 ance societies, we must here explain in a few words the system of shares 

 in the reserve fund held by policy holders which might be introduced into 

 a large number of societies. By the rules of the Caisse Commune d' As- 

 surance des Cultivateurs Beiges and the Assurance Agricole, the surplus 

 profits of the year are placed to the reserve fund. This is generally done 

 in the mutual societies, but the amoimt placed to the reserve fund must 

 always be distributed among the policy holders in proportion to the prem- 

 miums paid by each of them and entered to the credit of their personal 

 accounts. 



If it is necessary to draw on the reserve fund to make up for the insuf- 

 ficient amount derived from premiums, the amounts must be paid by the 

 policy holders in proportion to their premiums and entered to their debit. 



Every policy holder has therefore an account for his share in the re- 

 serve fund. When a member leaves the society on giving up farming, at 

 the end of the next working year his account is closed. If it is closed 

 with a debit balance, this must be paid, but members, when the society 



