The Swaminarain temple at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, which saw a terrorist attack yesterday, was insured. The temple had not only taken out a fire insurance policy but also insured itself against terrorist attacks. What is more, it had bought third-party liability cover, which offers indemnity to the temple against any legal claims filed by the public.
This means should any of the 100-odd people reportedly killed or injured in the terrorist attacks file a legal suit against the temple, state-owned Oriental Insurance Company, which has insured the religious premises, is liable to compensate the temple authorities.
While a bandh has been declared in Gujarat today and is expected to continue for the next two days, the regional offices of state insurance companies anticipate a rush for cover by temples. This follows the similar rush experienced in the state following the Godhra massacre in February which triggered statewide riots, and the earthquake in 2001.
Oriental Insurance saw a 20 per cent growth in premium income after the riots. The state-owned insurer received 1,000 riot claims and has since settled 91 per cent of them, aggregating around Rs 18-20 crore.
The Swaminarain temple took out a third-party policy on October 23, just after the September 11 attacks on the US. The third-party liability cover protects only visitors to the temple and not the employees injured in the attacks. It is not yet known how many of the devotees injured or killed were employees of the temple.
A devotee from the Swaminarain sect, however, does not anticipate any legal claims being filed against the temple. He stated:
