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Insurance man and other collectors

T

Tinpot

master brummie
I have recently been trying to clear up an old insurance policy and it has reminded me of the regular visits by the insurance man to our house to collect payments. The collector always came in and sat down in our front room and mom would give him the payment books to write up. She always kept them in a handbag which was tucked under the sideboard. There were life insurances and endowments paid in pennies. Far easier to deal with than all the faffing about with online setting up accounts, passwords and proof of identity etc. that is now required. The insurance man was a friend of the family. Tinpot
 
Tinpot said:
I have recently been trying to clear up an old insurance policy and it has reminded me of the regular visits by the insurance man to our house to collect payments. The collector always came in and sat down in our front room and mom would give him the payment books to write up. She always kept them in a handbag which was tucked under the sideboard. There were life insurances and endowments paid in pennies. Far easier to deal with than all the faffing about with online setting up accounts, passwords and proof of identity etc. that is now required. The insurance man was a friend of the family. Tinpot
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Yes that has brought back memories
The Man From The Pru
 
To explain something to our younger (or richer) viewers:- "on the knock" was when you had something and then someone would knock you door looking for the money owed to them. "To put by" was when you put a deposit on something and it was put by out of sight in the shop until you had paid the balance off on your little "club card". Can't moan - all my original camera equipment was "put by" at Sherwoods in the Great Western Arcade until my weekend jobs generated enough cash to pay for them. Happy days.....
 
Tinpot said:
I have recently been trying to clear up an old insurance policy and it has reminded me of the regular visits by the insurance man to our house to collect payments. The collector always came in and sat down in our front room and mom would give him the payment books to write up. She always kept them in a handbag which was tucked under the sideboard. There were life insurances and endowments paid in pennies. Far easier to deal with than all the faffing about with online setting up accounts, passwords and proof of identity etc. that is now required. The insurance man was a friend of the family. Tinpot
Click to expand...
I remember our insurance man used to come on a Monday evening and would have a chat and a cup of tea with our parents . I reckon we were his last call of the evening as he seemed to be there for ages nice man. Like you say you dealt with the person face to face and no waiting in a cue on the phone security questions etc . Happy days.
 
My Auntie Win always had a jigsaw on the go in her living room, and her Insurance man was often late on his round, he stayed too long finding the pieces!
We always had a Provident check for things, including my school uniform when I went to grammar school.
And we saved for a Christmas Hamper off the Co op milkman. It always looked very exotic in the brochure but usually turned out to be a bit of a disappointment!
 
We had a regular collection by the gas man. He came to empty the meter which was in a little cupboard and there was always a lingering smell. He would count all the "threepenny bits" and put them in little paper bags which were folded down carefully. Later it was changed to take sixpences. (two and a half new pence).
 
rosie said:
We had a regular collection by the gas man. He came to empty the meter which was in a little cupboard and there was always a lingering smell. He would count all the "threepenny bits" and put them in little paper bags which were folded down carefully. Later it was changed to take sixpences. (two and a half new pence).
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My Uncle Rob used to empty Gas Meters
i ended up having a great collection of
foreign coins
Yes there was always a Smell
 
rosie said:
We had a regular collection by the gas man. He came to empty the meter which was in a little cupboard and there was always a lingering smell. He would count all the "threepenny bits" and put them in little paper bags which were folded down carefully. Later it was changed to take sixpences. (two and a half new pence).
Click to expand...
ahh rosie the gas collector...although our dad was never out of work having 6 children sometimes meant that money was tight so when that happened dad used to cut out a piece of card to the shape of the money and put it in the slot to clock up the gas :D ...the dud money had to be made good on collection day..our gas meter was in the cellar under the front room..(i can still smell it now)...as ive said before it was just the way it was

lyn
 
lmr3103 said:
My Auntie Win always had a jigsaw on the go in her living room, and her Insurance man was often late on his round, he stayed too long finding the pieces!
We always had a Provident check for things, including my school uniform when I went to grammar school.
And we saved for a Christmas Hamper off the Co op milkman. It always looked very exotic in the brochure but usually turned out to be a bit of a disappointment!
Click to expand...
Yes our mom would get a Provident cheque to as they used to say rig you out. I also remember my mom's dividend number to this day.
 
Astoness said:
ahh rosie the gas collector...although our dad was never out of work having 6 children sometimes meant that money was tight so when that happened dad used to cut out a piece of card to the shape of the money and put it in the slot to clock up the gas :D ...the dud money had to be made good on collection day..our gas meter was in the cellar under the front room..(i can still smell it now)...as ive said before it was just the way it was

lyn
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Admire your dads forgery skills as you have said that's just the way it was and the money was made good and nobody was any wiser.
 
I can remember being told not to answer the door if the insurance or Provident man knocked due to lack of money. Regarding the electric meter, a chap told me a story many years ago when this very subject came up in conversation. “Ah, the Dinky toy and the stick” he reminisced. In an effort to save money on electricity bills, someone had drilled a very small hole in the side of the meter housing and pushed a thin stick (matchstick?) through to make contact with the revolving disc, then attached a Dinky car to the other end to apply enough pressure to slow it down. No idea if it worked, but apparently there was a rush to remove this improvised device every time the electric man called.
 
The first television we had took sixpences through a slot in the back. When we had none Mom somehow found out that the farthings she’d kept for some reason worked just as well.
The funny thing was when the collector emptied the box he just handed them back to her without a word…. She was very attractive lady my Mom!
 
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