H.—6

1929. NEW ZEALAND.

STATE FIRE INSURANCE OFFICE. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER, FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1928.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly pursuant to the Provisions of the State Fire Insurance Act, 1908.

State Fire Insurance Office, Wellington, 10th June, 1929. I have the honour to submit the twenty-fourth annual report of the State Fire Insurance Office, for the year ended 31st December, 1928, with the Revenue Account and Balance-sheet. The following comparative figures for the last three years show the progress made : — 1926. 1927. 1928. Income — £ £ £ Premiums .. .. .. .. .. .. 197,471 207,610 211,634 Other receipts .. ... .. .. .. .. 36,074 35,884 40,459 Outgo — Bonus rebate to policyholders .. .. .. .. 24,496 25,765 26,421 Claims.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 79,062 98,134 81,585 Per Per Per Cent. Cent. Cent. Ratio of claims to premium income .. . . .. 40-04 47-27 38-55 Working-expenses (exclusive of income-tax and Fire Board £ £ £ contributions) .. .. .. .. .. 50,048 50,295 49,804 Fire Board contributions.. .. .. .. .. 5,304 6,903 7,283 Income-tax .. .. .. .. .. .. 15,073 11,957 9,789 Per Per Per Ratio of working-expenses (exclusive of income-tax and Fire Cent. Cent. Cent. Board contributions) to premium income .. .. 25-35 24-23 23-54 Ratio of Fire Board contributions to premium income .. 2-68 3-32 3-44 Ratio of income-tax to premium income .. .. .. 7-63 5-76 4-63 £ £ £ Carried to reserve for unearned premiums .. .. .. 8,322 4,055 1,609 Surplus, apportioned as follows — £ £ £ Reinsurance Reserve Fund .. .. .. .. 5,000 5,000 10,000 Bonus Rebate Reserve .. .. .. .. .. 1,500 1,500 1,000 Written off office premises .. .. .. .. 4,000 4,000 3,000 Reserve Fund .. .. .. .. .. .. 40,737 35,883 61,600 Total .. .. .. .. .. £51,237 £46,383 £75,600 Reserves and funds at 31st December .. .. .. .. £623,622 £670,061 £744,271 The new business available was less than in previous years. Reductions in the rating classification of several districts whsre the Office holds a large number of risks also affected the increase in premium income. The ratio of working-expenses to premium income, however, was lower than for the past fifteen years, and the surplus a record. In this connection it is particularly gratifying to be able to report that during 1928, when fire claims on all insurance offices rose in the aggregate to a figure little short of a million and a half sterling —the highest ever recorded —the State Fire underwriting results, on the whole, were more satisfactory than for years past. Bonus Rebate. —This was fixed for 1928 at the same rate as for the previous year —viz., 12J per cent. The cost of rebates to the Office up to the end of 1928 has been as follows : — £ Year ended 31st December, 1923 .. .. .. .. 10,996 1924 .. .. .. .. 22,005 1925 .. .. .. .. 17,405 1926 .. .. .. .. 24,496 1927 .. .. .. .. 25,765 1928 .. .. .. .. 26,421 £127,088 Income-tax.—-It is not generally understood that the Office pays income-tax, although not quite on the same basis as insurance companies so far as reinsurances placed outside the Dominion are concerned. According to returns published by the Government Statistician, the State Fire Office has been for years past the largest fire-insurance taxpayer in the Dominion. For the five years ending 1927 the State Fire Office paid a total of £68,523 in income-tax, while the next largest total paid by any one office for the same period was £37,186. For 1927 (the latest year for which comparative figures have been published) the State Fire Office with 13-27 per cent, of the total fire premium income, provided no less than 35-09 per cent, of the total income-tax collected from all fire-insurance offices. J. H. Jerram, General Manager.