INSURANCE NOTES. 



THE 



At a rwent ineotiny; of tlie .sliari'lioldt'i's of tlie 

 I)i'i\vi-iit and Tamar Assurance Co., licld at Holiart, 

 icsulutions foi' the sale of the oonipany'x interests to 

 the liondon and Lancashiie Insurance Company Ltd.. 

 were approved. 



A destructivi' tir<> occurred in the heai't of Mel- 

 bourne on 4th March, when Hri.scoe and Co.'s ware- 

 house, of four .stories and iiasi'meiit, was gutted, and 

 the building partially destroyed. Heavy dainaj;e was 

 also caused to adjoining buildings. 



During the year ended 31st December last the 

 Standard Fire "and Marine In.surance Company of 

 New Zealand Limited earned an income of £139,244, 

 and expenditure amounted to £120,7312. an increase 

 in the former of £12.o8U over the 1910 figures. 

 Losses, rein.surances and charges, however, were 

 heavier in the term under review, and the net result 

 is £2097 less. The balance available is £26,449. of 

 which £10,000 is placed to the reserve fund, raising 

 it to £80,000. Dividend of 8 per cent., half of which 

 was paid in June, and bonus of (id. per share, absorb 

 £8500, leaving a balance of £7949 to be carried for- 

 ward. The paid capital is .£7o.OOO. sundry creditors 

 stand at £2808, and appropriation for unadjusted 

 losses figures at £4540. A.ssets amount to £203,354, 

 of which £98,964 are loans on mortgage, £20,560 

 real estate, £52,083 debenture.s and fi.xed deposits, 

 £10.989 cash, £16,557 balances due, and minor items. 



C'ommeuting on the recent big fire at Bri.scoe and 

 Co.'s warehou.se in Little Collins-street, Melbourne, 

 .Mr. H. H. Lee, the superintendent of the Fire 

 lirigade, condenses hi^ proposals under three heads: — 



1. (xreater tare in ridding premises of inllammable 

 material, .such as rubbish and packing. 



2. Proper watchinu, with automatic appliances to 

 check the watchman. 



3. Fir.st aid instalments for suppressing the first 

 outbreak. 



Mr. Lee states that very great carelessness is shown 

 in allowing rc'fuse. straw and other packing material 

 to accumulate. The general tendency is to sa.v that 

 the duty of watching and inspecting should be placed 

 on the sh(ndders of the police an<l the municipal 

 authority; but any sucli transfer of duty and respon- 

 .sibility would be unworthy of the bu.siness men of 

 a great city. To pay insurance premiums and to 

 assi.st in the maintiuiance of an efficient fire brigade 

 are the first and nujst obyious precautions to take; 

 but far too nuin.v business men go no further. 

 Scrupulous care should be taken that all risks of an 

 outbreak aiv provided against. This is not only a 

 proper business precaution ; it is a part of the duty 

 which every hnsiiu'ss man or firm owes to the com- 

 munity. .\ thorough watch should be established, 

 coupled with th(> use of the autonu\tic appliance 

 which .Mr. Lee ree(imnien<ls for at once detecting any 

 failure, .sueli j> llii' lire brigade itself has in opera- 

 tion. 



Net premiums earned by the Mercliants' Marino 

 Insujance C<impany Ltd. for 1911 were £256,138, and 

 ilainis paid were £57.808. or 22j per cent. The 

 amount standing U> the cnxlit of the 1910 account on 

 December 31, 1911, wa.s £.54,232. and after deducting 

 expenses and adtling interest ihei'e I'eiiuiined a balaiu'e 

 of £51,845. The sum of £40,000 was transferr.>d to 

 underwriting suspense account, leaving a profit of 

 £11.815. The directore rcconimeiiled the paynu>nt of 

 a <lividen<l of Is. 6d. per share free of tax, wdiich, 



COLONIAL MUTUAL 

 FIRE 



INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED. 



FIRE 



ACCIDENT - 



EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY- 

 FIDELITY GUARANTEE - 

 PLATE-GLASS BREAKAGE 

 MARINE - 

 BURGLARY 

 LIVE STOCK 



INSURANCE 



OFFICES : 

 MELBOURNE— 60 Market Street. 

 SYDNEY— 74 Pitt Street. 

 ADELAIDE— 71 King William Street. 

 BRISBANE— Creek Street. 

 PERTH— Barrack Street. 

 HOBART— Collins Strc«t. 

 LONDON— 77 Cornhill, E.G. 



WALTER TUCKER, 



General Manager, 



THE EQUITY TRISTEES. EXECUTORS, AND 

 AGENCY COMPANY LIMITED. 



RESERVE LIABILIIY, £100,000; GUARANTEE FUND, £10.000. 

 BOARD OF DIRECTORS- Edward Fanninfr, Esq.. Chairman: W. 

 H. Irvine, Esq., K.C., M.P. , Lionald Macliinnon, Esq., M.L.A. ; 

 R. O. M'Outcheon, Esq., M L.A. ; Steward Hof-rthur, Esq. 



Registered Office: No. 85 Queen Street, Melbourne. 



This Company i« empowered by epeoia] Act nf Parliament t9 

 perform all olassfS of trustee business. JOEL FOX, Manager. 

 T MARTIN, Assistant UanaKer. 



CLEMENT H. DAVIS, 



Incorporated Accountant, Specialist for Installing 

 Latest American Office Bookkeeping Systems, viz. — 

 Looseleaf or Perpetual Ledgers and Card-I.ed.ijerg 

 Correspondence, Filing, Adding and Posting Machines, 

 &c., &c. 



ROYAL BANK CHAMBERS. MELBOURNE. 



with llic iiitcriiii (lividcMil i):ii(l 111 .JuU. miule tlie 

 year's <livKleiid (i per rent. In view of the IDIO 

 if.Kiilt a hoiiii.- of 9(1. per .■ihare \va.s also recommeiKle,], 

 iiiakiiisi ill all 7.J per cent, for the year. The capital 

 ot the Coiiipany i.s £l'2">,il()0, and the reserve fund i? 

 also .shown at £l'2o. 11(10, while underwriting su.spen^e 

 aoeount is £40,355. and ereditor.s for returns and re- 

 insiiran(>> £15.007. while the balance from income 

 aiul ex])cnditure account, suh.ject to oiitstandin;; 

 ri.sks, was tl50,040, making the halance-shcel total 

 C45(i,'278. .\iiionf; a.s,sets, .securities and bank de- 

 posiU appear at £.301,040, the market value being 

 £302,543. 



