Along with Irda, will put their case before the parliamentary standing committee today.
Insurance companies would formally propose creating a pool of funds for nuclear insurance. Public and private insurance companies, along with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), would make their argument on the civil nuclear liability bill during their appearance tomorrow before the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology chaired by T Subbarami Reddy.
Sources at New India Assurance told Business Standard, “There is a general consensus among insurance companies for the creation of a pool of funds for nuclear insurance in the wake of nuclear mishaps.
It will, however, be formalised in the days to come. The civil liability bill is expected to be passed by Parliament in the monsoon session.”
Sources said: “The rationale is that in insurance no accident is taken as an exception and therefore it becomes a basis of the risk.
The logic on which the insurance companies work is, if it has happened once, it can happen again.”
General Insurance Corporation (GIC) sources said it was planning to take out a notification to make it mandatory for all the general insurers in India to be part of that pool (basically, forcing private companies to be part of the pool).
“As of now, France and Russia are the other two countries where such pooling is in place. The cover of insurance would be dependent on location,” sources said.
As of now, India has no coverage of insurance of hot zones.
“As of now, there is no past experience, there is no trail of premium and therefore the premium cannot be fixed and GIC has asked government for a study of risk estimates,” sources said.
An official of a state-run insurance company, who did not want to be named, said the proposed pool would be similar to the terror insurance pool.
All claims arising from any terrorist activity are furnished through the terror insurance pool formed by general insurance companies in 2001.
