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Mumbai Attacks Insurance Claims Cross Crores

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:07:48 +0000

The damage caused to the heritage Taj Palace and the Trident could rise to be the 1st major terror related claim in India. After Smoke and fire billows out of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai terrorism was globally done an ‘excluded’ risk post 9/11 by world insurers, there has not been any major terror insurance claim on Indian non-life insurers.

Thus far terrorist attacks in India have progressed in loss of human life and damage to public and government property, while damage to corporate property was minimal.

Non-life insurance companies have got claims worth Rs 1.3 crore on account of terror acts this year so far, while the figure rised at around Rs 1 crore for previous year. The claims comrpised personal accident cover — claims submitted by persons who had been injured in bomb attacks. The biggest terrorism-related claim in India so far was done by Coca-Cola, for a plant that was blown up by Naxalites.

Several insurers believe that the claims on account of the blasts and the fire that followed at the Taj Palace could be important. Tata AIG General Insurance is understood to have offered cover to the Indian Hotels Group, which owns the Taj, under a world package.

A senior official at Tata AIG told that there is a cover, but he told, by now, the aim was the well being of people in the hotel. With the terrorists continuing to be pit up in the Taj and the Trident until late Thursday, an evaluation of the damage is not possible. Moreover, thinking that fires had broken out in the heritage wing of the hotel, the damage could be considerable.

Unlike foreign insurers, who is not included terror risks from their standard property insurance policies, Indian companies cover terrorism. Indian companies are able to offer protection even without reinsurance help since the creation of a ‘terrorism pool’ 7 years ago.

The pool, which first offered protection up to Rs 200 crore, can now provide cover up to Rs 700 crore as there has hardly been any terror claim. Yogesh Lohiya, chairman, General Insurance Corporation, told ET that the pool has been running at a surplus as premium collections have been over Rs 150 crore a year.

Non-life insurers were, in any case, waiting for rates in the reinsurance markets to roughen as the crash in world markets has reduced the capacity of international reinsurers.

Some insurers think that the terror attacks could worsen the risk perception of India in the foreign reinsurance market. A spate of terror attacks, comprising the destruction of the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad, has already keyed up rates for Pakistani risks in the international market.

Other Insurance Companies comments over Mumbai Attacks:

Stock after 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks : Finance Report

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 07:49:14 +0000

The terror attacks that rattled India’s financial capital might depress stocks, wet tourism and slow future investment, but are unlikely to inflict long-term damage on the country’s economy, analysts and business people told Thursday.

“This is a difficult for the government to manage law and order in the nation,” told Takahira Ogawa, director of sovereign ratings at Standard & Poor’s in Singapore. “At this height, I don’t consider there will be any major impact on the macroeconomic or fiscal position of the government.”

The attacks, which started Wednesday night when gunmen invaded 2 posh hotels, a restaurant and many other places in downtown Mumbai, came as India was fighting to contain fallout from the global financial crisis.

Foreign investors have already pulled $13.5 billion out of the nation’s stock market this year, directing the benchmark Sensex index down 57% and punishing the rupee. Liquidity has dried up, economic growth is turtling and people are spending less money.

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2008 Top 10 Donors of America

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 07:32:07 +0000

Several of America’s ultra-rich continued to offer huge donations to charity in 2008, despite the bad financial crisis in decades. In the earlier year, 7 philanthropists gave north of $200 million and 9 gave more than $100 million to reasons varying from wilderness preservation to defending malaria. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates remain far and away the biggest donors overall, but 2 of 12 newcomers to the list pledged to donate more than $1 billion away: William Barron Hilton, co-chairman of the Hilton hotel chain who pledged late last year to offer 97% of his wealth — some $1.7 billion — to his family’s humanitarian foundation and Peter G. Peterson, co-founder of the investment firm Blackstone Group, who gave $1 billion this year to start a foundation that responds fiscal responsibility.

Bill & Melinda Gates, Microsoft co-founder, 2004-08 Giving* $2,625 million
Donald Bren, Real estate developer, 2004-08 Giving* $908 million
George Kaiser, Oil and gas, banking, investments, 2004-08 Giving* $2,377 million
George Soros, Investor, 2004-08 Giving* $2,214 million
Herbert & Marion Sandler, Golden West Financial co-founders, 2004-08 Giving* $1,329 million
Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg founder, NYC Mayor, 2004-08 Giving* $903 million
Peter Peterson, Blackstone Group co-founder, 2004-08 Giving* $1,168 million
Walton Family, Family of Wal-Mart founder, 2004-08 Giving* $1,380 million
Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway CEO, 2004-08 Giving* $40,655 million
William Barron Hilton, Heir and former CEO of Hilton Hotels, 2004-08 Giving* $1,700 million

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