Various

“ It is a matter of great importance to be insured in a good office, and the most careful inquiry should be made on the subject before taking out a policy. “Safety,” says one writer, “ought to be the first consideration, and economy the second; but really, economy ought to be put first, for there is no economy in insuring in an unsound office, however low its premium may be.” ”

“ Fire insurance, life insurance, and the purchase of annuities are amongst the sensible transactions of prudent and saving people. But sometimes the prudent and saving, quite through innocent misfortune, come down in the world, and have a difficulty in making both ends meet for the present, let alone providing for the future. Under these circumstances people without much experience, and especially women who are not business women, are very apt to fall a prey to the wiles of the professional money-lender. ”

“ Hué, her father’s faithful attendant, writes of her:—“She had attained an age in which sorrows are keenly felt, but had learned by great examples to show herself superior to adversity. Left entirely by herself in the Tower of the Temple, God being her only adviser and support, she increased in grace and virtue, and grew like the lily which the tempest spared.” The loving foresight of her aunt doubtless contributed in great measure to the preservation of her health. She had planned out the days for her, appointing set times for prayer, reading, work, and the care of her room. ”

“ Perhaps, after paying for many years without a disaster, one may be inclined to lament having insured at all, and wish that all the money paid in premiums were in her own pocket; but this is not the right way of looking at it. The money sunk in premiums is well spent in buying ease of mind. A person insured can sleep in comfort, knowing that if fire should overtake her property she will recover full value ”

“ Hitherto he had only pictured to himself an ideal pastoral shepherd as Fairy’s foster-father, and though John Shelley might have sat to an artist as a patriarchal shepherd, there was nothing ideal or poetical about Charlie: a more realistic clod-hopping youth it would be hard to meet with, even in the South Downs. And this was Fairy’s foster-brother! Just imagine his mother’s face or Lady Oafham’s if they were introduced to Charlie as the foster-brother of Rex’s future wife. ”

“ In describing the property to be insured, you must be careful to tell the whole truth about it, so that the company may know what risk they are running in insuring it. Suppose, too, after the insurance has been effected the risk should become greater—say by the erection of a stove—you must not fail to keep yourself safe by communicating with the company. There are some kinds of property, such as ready money, books of accounts (their value as documents) , bank-notes, stamps, bills, bonds, and other written securities, which insurance companies will not undertake to insure on any terms. ”

“ But when people grow up, it is often the best way to make the most of a small capital, and to prevent their becoming, perhaps, a little later in life, a burden on their friends. The great thing, in settling whether to invest money thus, is to discuss the matter with common sense, and to ask, “What should I do, so as to be most useful to myself and to others?”
Annuities, both immediate and deferred, are granted by the Post Office for any amount not less than £1 or more than £100 to any person not under the age of five years. ”

“ An annuity is a periodical payment made either for a fixed number of years or whilst a given life lasts. It may be paid yearly, quarterly, weekly, or otherwise. It may come to one as a gift, or be left as a legacy, but it can also be purchased through an insurance company by the payment of a certain sum of money supposed to be its equivalent in value. ”

“ The cost of life insurance is based on the expectation of life at different ages. The expectation of life, for example, of a girl of ten years of age is about 48 years; at fifteen about 44 years; at twenty about 40 years, and so on, decreasing year by year, till at last it dwindles down to nothing at all.
A period of grace, most commonly thirty days, is allowed after each life premium falls due. If it is not paid within that time, the conclusion is come to that the policy-holder intends to drop the contract. ”

“ Insurance premiums are usually paid once a year at one or other of the four quarter-days. Fifteen days of grace are allowed after the expiry of annual policies, and if the premium is not paid before the end of these fifteen days, the insurance company holds itself free from all risk. All policies, however, are not annual ones. You may insure for any length of time. No days of grace are allowed on “short-time policies”—that is, on policies for less than twelve months.
If one has any property to speak of, it is always well to insure, for accidents will happen. ”

“ This lady not only agreed, but warmly commended Ella for being observant, and added that she was sure servants had often a great deal to put up with from unjust and unreasonable mistresses, who would goad them into speaking rudely by their overbearing manners, or make it almost impossible for them to get their work done properly by constantly calling them off from it to attend to other things; and then, having the poor girls’ characters entirely in their hands, ruin their chances by blaming them for faults which they themselves had caused. ”

“ There are some money-lenders who only pretend to lend: as a matter of fact, they never do. Their profits are derived solely from booking fees, office expenses, and charges for the sham “inquiry,” which always is of so unsatisfactory a nature that the loan cannot be granted. ”

“ A shilling postal order at the end of a year would only be worth 101⁄2d.; at the end of two years its value would be 81⁄2d.; and suppose it remained uncashed for six years, all you would get for it would be 1⁄2d.
Before a postal order is paid, the blank spaces must be filled in, and the receiver of the money must sign her name at the foot. Should a postal order be “crossed” like a cheque, payment will only be made through a banker.
Leaving money and postal orders—which we have spoken about fully because they are such everyday documents—we come now to speak of Insurance. ”