Mumbai attack spawns demand for insurance

While general insurance majors will have to cough up a sizeable amount of money to settle the damage incurred by the Taj and Oberoi hotels...

While general insurance majors will have to cough up a sizeable amount of money to settle the damage incurred by the Taj and Oberoi hotels, the recent terror attacks have spawned a flood of enquiries about insurance offerings.

With existing policy holders anxious to find out the details of the kind of cover they hold and many potential buyers sizing up the prudence of one, major players in the industry are all set to to leverage this opportunity. Many of them are planning to not only upgrade existing products but launch new ones as well.

While protection from terror-related damages is optional when it comes to property insurance, it is inbuilt into life insurance policies. Major hotels and shopping malls already have this cover, however, according to industry sources many of the existing policy holders owning medium and small business establishments had so far not opted for it. “There are queries from both existing holders and new buyers about all these aspects now. Those who have not taken it are now looking to opt for it. Such demands are usually seen after major tragedies like this,” said Neeraj Kumar, General Manager (Technical) of the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.

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“Definitely there is an increase in enquiries. There have been quite a few enquiries from new insurance seekers and existing holders in the last few days. People are asking us to include terror cover in their existing policies but unfortunately that is not possible. That can only be included at the time of renewal,” Iffco-Tokio Chairman S Narayanan said. The case is the same for life insurance companies.

Companies are now planning to actively include hazards posed by terror-related incidents in their marketing strategy. “Though we are not going to come out with advertisements, these points will be mentioned while canvassing,” the marketing head of a leading public sector life insurance company said.

“The Mumbai attacks are too recent. Most of the people are still in a state of shock and are in a thinking mode. People have not yet co-related terror and insurance. But it will definitely be at the back of their minds. We will also help raise awareness levels,” Poonam Bhardwaj, senior Vice President of ICICI Prudential told The Indian Express. Meanwhile, Insurance Regulation and Development Authority Chairman J Hari Narayan is of the view that “terror insurance products are bound to be upgraded and the rate of premia might change depending upon the evolution of new products that the industry may come up with” in the wake of Mumbai attacks.