asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state whether there has been any failure of the consideration for the payment of the premium in respect of any of the insurance policies issued by Irish Shipping, Limited, in respect of goods as specified in the Schedule to Emergency Powers (No. 129) Order, 1941; if such failures are apprehended, and, if so, why, and generally if he will explain the need and purpose of the said Emergency Powers Order.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Emergency Powers (No. 129) Order.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state what is intended to be the effect of Emergency Powers (No. 129) Order, 1941, and what is the reason for the order.
I will take Questions Nos. 27 and 28 together. Irish Shipping, Limited, undertakes certain war risks insurance of goods destined for this country for such time as they are lying at ports in Spain or Portugal and are not coverable by ordinary war risk insurance. Since the risks are outside the range of ordinary insurance business the considerations relevant to the Marine Insurance Act, 1906, are not applicable.
The effect of the order is to release the company from the obligation under the Marine Insurance Act, 1906, to refund insurance premiums wholly or partly in the event of the consideration for the premiums failing wholly or partly to materialise.
I have no information as to whether cases have arisen where the consideration has failed to materialise. This may happen in the event of the goods insured not arriving at the ports covered or in the event of their safe arrival and removal from the ports covered before the lapse of the period covered by ordinary war risk policies.
The need for the order is based on the desire to ensure the continuance of importation of essential supplies for the community by the route concerned.
Does the Minister mean to imply that, if a trader effects this exceptional insurance policy for goods lying at Lisbon against the risk that will materialise if the ordinary war risk insurance policy lapses, then, if that risk does not materialise, the merchant will not get his premium back?
That is so.
Is that not rather hard?
It is precisely because of the circumstances in which the insurance has to be made that ordinary risk insurance associations will not cover the risk at all. Because ordinary insurance firms would not cover the risk at all, Irish Shipping, Ltd., undertook it in order to make it possible to bring in goods, completely covered, by this route, but they recognised that the risk they were covering might materialise at any moment and involve a very substantial loss for Irish Shipping, Ltd., a loss that would only arise on one occasion. It is, consequently, necessary for Irish Shipping, Ltd., to build up a fund to cover that risk and they could not acquire that fund if they had to fulfil the condition of the Marine Insurance Act requiring repayment of the premiums, in whole or in part, if the consideration did not materialise.