(4) Of our general insurance business (that is to say, the non-life business) two-thirds is transacted outside the United Kingdom, and the pre-war net profits to this country from overseas insurance business were in the region of £20 million. This invisible export is of enormous importance to-day, and there is no reason why, with intensive effort, it should not be greatly extended. London is the world's greatest insurance centre, and its maintenance is a matter of paramount importance to the country in the present situation.