Rs 9 crore insurance cover for Sunday's ODI
Sources said MCA will shell out a premium of Rs 5 lakh for a special contingency policy for event cancellation from Oriental Insurance Company (OIC). The policy will protect MCA against financial losses owing to cancellation of matches due to bad weather, natural disasters, terrorism-related incidents or abandonment due to death of a prime minister or president. The cricket association cannot claim compensation if a ball is bowled before the match is called off.
"The cover for the India-England ODI is higher by Rs 1 crore compared to the policy for the India-Australia bilateral series match at D Y Patil Stadium on November 11, 2009," he added.
The India-Australia match was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to incessant rain. A source said, "There has been an increase in premium of the reinsurance market by at least 40% in the past six months. The local insurance company that offers the cover for such events has to peg the premium rates with those prevailing in the reinsurance market."
India is bracketed under the 'extreme risk category' in the terror index of the reinsurance market. The country's record in the terror index got further sullied following the July blasts in Mumbai in July and the bomb blast outside the Delhi high court last month.
Last week, the Anti-Terrorism Squad received an alert of plans to target the Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport on the eve of Diwali. Leander Dias, OIC administrative officer, said, "We cannot disclose financial figures to the media as these are confidential matters."
Apart from terror, rain is a major concern for cricket administrators. The earliest the monsoon withdrew from Mumbai in the last few years was October 7 in 2005. It withdrew as late as October 24 last year.
An insurance official said, "MCA is wary about the weather as the rain refuses to go away. They don't want to take chances as the India-Australia match had met a similar fate."
Comments