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APPENDIX A.
MEMORANDUM.
AN ExaMINATION OF CERTAIN FEATURES OF THE SICKNESS AND DISABLEMENT
CrArMs OF THE SELECTED SOCIETIES IN THE YEARS 1921-23.
1. The records of the sickness and disablement claims of the ¢ Selected
Societies ” were sufficiently complete in detail to enable the investigation
to include enquiries as to the proportion of members claiming benefit of
each kind in each year at the various age groups, with the related average
duration of claim. Statistics were also obtainable as to the working of
the three days’ waiting period and as to the extent to which the claims
for disablement benefit represented other than permanent incapacity.
The information thus secured is believed to be both of interest and of
importance to those engaged in the administration of sickness risks as
well as to actuaries who are called upon to deal with the financial aspect
of these risks, and it is accordingly presented in Tables I, IT and III
appended to this memorandum. These tables relate, respectively, to the
experience of men, unmarried women (spinsters and widows) and married
WOL1e1
2. It was desired to compare the new experience with earlier (friendly
society) experience in regard to some of the points covered by these
tables, but this was only possible in the case of men, since women were
not insured against sickness to any material extent before the institution
of National Health Insurance and no women’s sickness experience of any
authority has previously been obtained. The features examined in
paras. 3 to 9 below relate exclusively therefore to the experience of men
and no corresponding investigation can be made in the case of women.
3. On examining Table I it was found that the sickness claims of men
were relatively fewer than in the Manchester Unity Experience, but that
the average duration of sickness and disablement was longer than in that
experience. This feature has been further investigated and use has been
made of the analysed table of the Manchester Unity Sickness Rates
contained in p. 593 of the Report for 1912-13 on the Administration of
National Health Insurance (Cd. 6907) to obtain approximations to the
proportion sick ’’ in the ‘first six months’ and “ after six months ’’
periods respectively and to the proportions entering on the ‘‘ after six
months ’’ period which are necessary for a complete comparison of this
standard experience with that of the Selected Societies.
4. The following table relates to sickness benefit (1st six months of
sickness). The headings are self-explanatory.
Taner 1.
Proportion of Members Claiming
Benefit in the Year (per thousand).
Average Duration of Attack in the
Year (stated in weeks).
Central Age of
Group.
13°... we
22% ... are
27%... eh
32} ... tae
Jit... ove
4924... vor
47% ... ‘oe
52% ... vee
H7% ... ure
G25... rn
M.U., 1893-97
(approximate).
1)
302
236
232
232
236
246
258
273
300
200
Selected Societies,
1921-23.
(2)
158
151
147
152
155
160
171
195
221
92092
M.U., 1893-97
(approximate).
(3)
3-0
3-3
3-4
37
4-0
4°;
4-8
54
61
oi
Selected Societies
(adjusted for 1st
3 days).
(4)
4-0
4-4
46
4-7
48
50
5-3
57
fe
7.