• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• Smartbuy

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

T.E. Raja Simhan

Chennai, May 21

Major ports are chasing nationalised insurance companies to get an insurance cover for their assets. After the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, the Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) is the second major port to insure its assets estimated at Rs 990 crore against risks such as earthquake, tsunami, cyclone and even terrorist attacks.

Other major ports will soon follow suit.

Two years ago, the Central Government ordered all the 12 major ports to insure their assets, after the tsunami in 2004 damaged the Chennai port and other small ports in Tamil Nadu, according to Mr P.C. Parida, Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer, ChPT.

With the tsunami damaging assets worth around Rs 20 crore at Chennai port, the insurance coverage became a necessity, he told Business Line.

New India Assurance beat other nationalised insurance companies to win the ChPT business, which is worth a premium of Rs 3.89 crore, including terrorism cover.

The ChPT has its own General Insurance Fund to make good the damage/loss to the port properties arising on account of natural calamities. The port is not insuring any of its properties except motor vehicles, he said.

The loss on account of disruption in business due to any untoward incident or any calamity has been included in the cover with a sum of Rs 100 crore as business loss; machinery loss of profit covers Rs 4 crore; the wreck removal in the port channel has been worked out at Rs 25 crore; the cost of other liability at Rs 30 crore and floating cranes were valued at Rs 174.81 crore for insurance purpose, he said.

Mr Parida said since the port is vulnerable to terrorist attacks, the terrorism cover has been worked out for the entire ‘combined single limit’ (this covers for bodily and physical damages under one limit) loss of Rs 220 crore , and a premium of Rs 17.07 lakh has been provided towards this.

The advantage of terrorism coverage in the scope of insurance was that in the event of damage to port property on account of action/attack of terrorism, and any loss in income due to stoppage of operations due to action/attack, the insurance company shall accept the claim as per the sum insured.

More Stories on : General Insurance | Shipping

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Air passenger growth slows down

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line