Owner of a mall at Sankara area in Varanasi, Manish Talwar has opted for a policy that offers cover in case of a terror attack. “This was something long overdue. Varanasi has witnessed riots, strikes and terror attacks. The twin blasts at Sankatmochan Mandir and Railway Station in 2006 had created a scare among people,” said Manish. He is not alone, sources said 15 establishments in Varanasi have opted for the terrorism cover.

With terror attacks becoming frequent, insurance companies have started offering cover for loss of property and assets in terror attacks. The cover is being offered as an extension of the fire risk policy, and one can buy it by paying an additional premium. The nationalised insurance companies were the first to come out with these policies around mid-2007.

M K Jindal, general manager of Oriental Insurance Company at Delhi, said, “The terror cover has not gained much publicity till now. Only 15 to 20 per cent of the business establishments who buy the fire risk policy go in for the terrorism cover too.” However, Asha Nair, deputy general manager of The New India Assurance at Mumbai, said “the terror cover policy is getting good response” in Mumbai. She said some private companies have also started offering such covers.

In Uttar Pradesh, the responses have started coming in only recently, said N N Tripathi, a senior official at Oriental Insurance, Varanasi. “The policy covers damage to property in bomb blasts or any other kind of terrorist activity. For the compensation of loss of life in a terror activity, the owner has to take a liability cover. A few businessmen have also opted for the liability policy,” said Tripathi.

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