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Remya Nair
K Ramkumar

Mumbai, Dec. 4 Seafood exporter Gul Kripalani never thought about an insurance cover against terror attack until last week. He has his unit near Colaba Causeway, the epicentre of last week’s terror attack in Mumbai. Now he is thinking of taking a comprehensive insurance policy that covers terrorist attack.

“We feel it is prudent to avail a terror insurance cover for our properties. Though we have not taken a terror insurance cover as of now, we will definitely consider taking a policy when we come across a good proposal”, said Mr Gul Kripalani, Chairman and Managing Director of Pijikay Group of companies, a seafood exporting company.

The Mumbai terror strikes have brought into sharp focus the necessity of having a cover to take care of the risks arising on this front. While large corporates are well aware of this cover, post-the Mumbai incident, general insurers such as ICICI Lombard, IFFCO Tokio, and Future Generali have reported stepped-up enquiries from SMEs and individuals.

“Post-the Mumbai incident, awareness among people has increased. Earlier, only select corporate houses went in for a terrorism cover. But now, business establishments irrespective of their size are taking this cover. Even on the retail side, customers are making it a point to enquire if their personal accident cover has terror cover included in it. During the past attacks, there was not much awareness since most of the targeted areas were public property,” said Mr Deepak Sud, Chief Executive Officer, Future Generali India Insurance Company.

Future Generali, according to Mr Sud, has been advising its existing clients to go in for the terrorism cover.

“We have started getting proposals from our existing corporate clients to include terrorism in their cover", said Mr Vijay Mehrotra, Country Head Retail, IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company.

Terrorism cover can be given for property or personal accident. It is offered as an add-on cover and an individual has the choice to request the same while insuring property. Similarly, personal accident cover for terrorism could encompass accidental death, total disability, loss of limbs, loss of a sensory organ, partial disability or loss of pay due to disability.

“The number of individuals opting for terrorism insurance is on the rise due to heightened awareness, especially in sensitive geographies prone to acts of terrorism,” said Mr Rajive Kumaraswami, Head-Reinsurance, ICICI Lombard, in an e-mail response.

More Stories on : General Insurance | Terrorism

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