Towns > Edinburgh > 1846-1975 - Post Office Edinburgh and Leith directory > 1863-1864

THIED ISSUE, GREATLY IMPROVED AND ENLARGED,
PRICE 7/6,
With Map hij W. cL- A. K. JohvMon.
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THE SCOTTISH PROVIDENT INSTITUTION.
i" Mr. DAVID M'LAREN, as Convener of the Committee
charged with the anan;^eraents for the Meeting, in moving
the adoption of the Report, referred to tlie business of tlie
year, and continued : — I cannot too earnestly remind our
contributors that it is to an extended knowledge of our
principles — the true principles of Life Insurance, as we
hold — that we must look for increased prosperity to the
Institution. To two of these, namely, our low Premiums,
and the distribution of our Profits to those Policies from
whose long subsistence they have been derived, the Chair-
man has already referred. In regard to the former, I find
intending Insurers are sometimes led away by the induce-
ment of early bonuses, without adverting to the Premiums
which they have to pay for them. If another merchant
charge 20 or 25 per cent more for his goods than I am pre-
pared to do, his customer may well get a discount of 15
per cent at settlement, and yet be a great loser by not
coming my way. I need not say how much more in keep-
ing with the sound principles of modern commerce is the
system of net prices than first to make an overcharge and
then an abatement. But there is another principle which
we hold in common with all Mutual Oflees, and it is one
which we ought ever to keep prominently before the
public, namely, iliaX the, profits are wholly divided among the
Insured, and not shared with a foreign body— the Share-
holders — as in Proprietary Companies. It has struck me
as a curious thing that none of these Companies, so far as
I am aware, has ever mentioned in its advertisements,
among the advantages held out to the Insured, that the
Company has been so prosperous as to divide among the
proprietors some eight or ten per cent, or, including bo-
nuses, even greatly more. And why? Because of the
very inconvenient inquiry which would be made by the
Insured, — From whom was this return derived? An in-
quiry which could only result in the answer, — From the
Insured themselves
Allusion has been made to the subject of amalgama-
tions I believe few are aware of the extent to which such
transactions have gone of late. Within the last few years
more than a hundred offices have ceased to exi.st as inde-
pendent institutions, most of them having been absorbed
into otheis. I believe you will approve of the sentiments
which the Chairman has expressed with reference to the
propriety of our continuing to keep clear of such transac-
tions. We know what we have done ourselves, and how it
has been done. We could not know so accurately what
was the kind of business that had been done in an institu-
tion which might seek to amalgamate with us. In con-
nexion with this subject, I may mention that we have
received not a few proposals from persons who had been
insured in offices where such amalgamations have taken
place. Of such offices some have had to resort to amalga-
mations as a matter of necessity ; and it is not to be
wondered at that their Policy-holders should not feel very-
easy, and should have been led to consider the propriety
of transferj'ing their assurances to an office of ujidoubted
stability. To all such I confidently present the claims of
this Institution as offering them the advantage of which
tliey are in quest, and yet without entailing, in most cases,
the payment of a larger Premium in consequence of their
increased age. The Chairman has mentioned the profitable
transfer which he himself made many years ago in joining
it. On a former occasion he expressed the hope that be
would live to receive part of the Accumulated Profits. I
am sure we are all happy to find that the hope then ex-
pressed is now realized, and we will be still further gralitied
to find the expectation yet more fully realized by his
having a very large share indeed of the future profits added
to his Policy. The best service we can render to Policy.
holders who are contemplating a transfer, is to tell them to
imitate the good example of our Chairman.