Devotees may seek solace inside their holy precincts, but cash-rich and gold-laden temples across India are seeking somewhat less divine intervention to protect their riches: insurance companies. From priests, pilgrims, ornaments, buildings, elephants and even cattle inside temple premises, the insured list is quite extensive.
It’s a lucrative business. But the riches sought to be insured are leaving insurers jittery in some cases. For example, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams temple in Andhra Pradesh owns more than 8,000 kg of gold ornaments, studded with precious stones — some dating back to the 12th century — valued at close to Rs 52,000 crore.
While the temple authority is scouting for an insurer for the jewellery, insurers are reluctant to bet on a risk that may wipe out a large sum from their balance sheet in case of a claim.
“The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust has shown interest in insuring the temple jewellery. Some of the pieces of jewellery are 600 years old, so it is a challenge to arrive at a valuation,” said G Srinivasan , chairman & managing director of United India Insurance.
Apart from the fact that no single insurer can provide this kind of cover, it would also require reinsurance to mitigate the huge risk, pointed out an official at an insurance company.
United India Insurance has already provided cover for a small portion of the jewellery at Tirupati, when it is occasionally taken out for ceremonies, apart from personal accident cover for devotees in the 7-km radius of the temple.
With as much as 400 kg of gold and Rs 400 crore in bank deposits, Guruvayoor temple in Kerala foots an annual insurance premium bill of close to Rs 50 lakh for a comprehensive policy covering land, buildings, jewellery, cows and elephants, among other things, within the temple premises.
The Sabarimala Ayyappa shrine insured its assets, including its gold-coated roof, buildings and jewellery, in 2006 with United India Insurance. The temple also provides insurance cover for pilgrims and government employees on duty. Nearly 40 million devotees visit the temple during November-January, with offerings of close to Rs 150 crore collected in the two months it is open.
It was a 2002 terror attack on the Akshardham temple in Gujarat that prompted many other temples to take out insurance cover. Since then, shrines such as Vaishnodevi temple in Jammu & Kashmir, the Tirupathi Devasthanam in and Madurai Meenakshi temple have opted for insurance against terror attacks.
“Almost all the new temples these days are going for insurance cover, and old ones are showing an interest in getting insurance cover,” said M Ramadoss, chairman & managing director, New India Insurance.
The increasing number of temples opting for insurance comes with rising complexities in insuring them. For example, when the government recently decided to take out insurance cover for pilgrims to the Kumbh Mela, the religious fair held once in four years, the insurance company was at a loss, as there was no count of people coming to the fair.
“It is quite a unique situation when one does not know the number of people to be insured. Finally, it was agreed that the insurance company would provide cover to 500 people for Rs 1 lakh at a point where the likelihood of a stampede was highest,” said an official of United India Insurance.
Insurers are also developing tailor-made products for religious institutions and events. For example, Haj pilgrims going to Mecca are increasingly buying insurance against loss of currency, apart from personal accident cover.
The demand push has also led to a hardening of premium rates for insuring religious places. “The premium rate has gone up. At the same time, the entry of broking agents in the business is just an extra expense. Last year, we had to pay around Rs 6 lakh extra for insurance as brokerage, but that has not been of any use. We are not going to employ a broking house when we go for renewal of our policy in February,” said an official of Guruvayoor temple.
While temples embrace insurance, insurance companies seek divine blessings in covering them. The advantages of insuring religion are multiple and mutual. “It is not just a business for us, but a social cause. After all, temples are great places to advertise a product,” succinctly sums up the head of a public sector insurance firm.
