TABLE E.-Curves denoting the Expectation or Average Duration of After-life.

35

34

80

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

*** 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

33

32

31

Average duration of after-life, or "Expectation."

10

The dotted curve denotes the "Expectation" according to the 17 Offices' Experience, the other that of the Eagle Unsound lives.

Since communicating to the Institute of Actuaries the above article, I have traced the causes of death in 505 of the cases,

thinking that it might be of advantage to know how far the diseases
and affections which rendered it necessary in the first instance to
make the extra charge, were connected with those complaints
which eventually caused the death of the life assured.

This information I have collected and arranged in the following
table.

The following abstract of the discussion which followed the reading of the paper is taken from the Insurance Record.

The President having invited discussion,

Mr. BUNYON asked Mr. Humphreys whether he could trace the number of diseased lives, classed under the heads of organs of respiration and intemperance, that had died; the average addition in each case being only seven years.

Mr. HUMPHREYS said he had traced whether there had been a loss or gain on those lives, and he found that on the whole they had not paid sufficiently, and therefore a heavier addition would be required. He felt that it was no use to make a table of premiums for each disease, because people naturally expected the state of their disease to be assessed. It might be a fair average case, or a very bad one; and the same premium would not do for both cases. Supposing, for instance, it were an average case of gout, the company would add a certain number of years in consequence, but people would not pay an average rate in other cases.

Mr. BUNYON asked whether that was not specially the case with intemperate lives.

Mr. PORTER enquired what was meant by intemperate lives?

Mr. HUMPHREYS said the Mutiny Act defined as an intemperate man anyone who got drunk three times in a month, or something of that sort.

The PRESIDENT recollected a celebrated case in which the Eagle was concerned, where the late Lord Chief Baron laid it down that no amount of after-dinner conviviality would constitute intemperance, but that the man who drank brandy in the morning was the really intemperate.

Mr. BROWN asked Mr. Humphreys whether the causes of death were traced, and whether the connection between those causes and the reason for putting up the life, had been investigated.

Mr. HUMPHREYS said he had got the data in some cases, but not in all. The early records were faulty. So far as he could ascertain, a great many of the lives had died from causes quite irrespective of the disease for which the addition was originally made.

Mr. WALFORD said that he had had occasion recently to go through a great deal of the history of diseased life insurance. Since the advent of the Clerical and Medical in 1824, no less than 50 different companies had started, more or less with the view of insuring diseased lives. A considerable percentage of these companies had had tables specifically prepared for their business, but not one of them furnished any clue to the materials from which they were deduced. He had taken a great deal of trouble to obtain publications of parliamentary committees, reports on Friendly Societies, and other official documents, from which people expected to obtain information, in order to ascertain whether there were any sources of information open to the companies; but he could not find anything clear or definite on the subject. There was no doubt that the officials of the Asylum Company did take the trouble to go through some army agents' books and trace the lives, more particularly with reference to the influence of foreign residence on health; and thus got a large collection of facts, which were no doubt the most trustworthy data which could at that time be obtained. But how the facts thus collected were applied to the tables, did not appear clear. The impression on his mind after careful observation was that hardly any of the companies had made the business pay. That might arise from several causes; probably from the fact that they did not get enough of it to make it pay. There was, he thought, one obvious reason, and that was that in cases of bad colds, as also for intemperance and other common forms of disease, -the companies had put on a small extra charge; but for gout, hernia, and palpable diseases of that sort, they had put on a large addition sufficient to drive the business away. Now, he believed that the specific charges for what would be regarded as serious diseases had paid very well, but that small additions for that class of ailments which were considered trivial had not paid. It might be taken for granted that cases of consumption, for instance, which had been slightly surcharged, generally resulted in a loss to the companies. It was quite clear that no tables could be constructed which would be applicable to all cases, the only method was to regard each case on its own merits, submitting it to the best medical scrutiny they could obtain, and quoting a rate in accordance with the medical officer's report. There had been several attempts in America to found diseased life insurance