CWG: Organisers seek insurance against cancellation!

Embattled Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi has set the ball rolling on seeking insurance against cancellation of the event. The committee will float the tender by September 15, less than three weeks before the Games begin in New Delhi.

It's a usual practice in India for organisers of such high profile events to take 'event cancellation' covers at the last minute. For example, the Indian Premier League organisers took such a cover for the semi-final, final and the third place match for Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 6 crore per match, just a day before the tournament started.

But the matter has gained importance for CWG due to the growing concerns over the preparedness of the country's capital and the CWG authorities. With barely a month left for completing the undertaken projects,  the authorities are under fire from all quarters.

A senior executive at Oriental Insurance said a lot will depend on the profile of the risk the organising committee is looking to insure. "The premium will not shoot up due to speculations. We are very confident that the Games will go on as planned. There are a lot of people working on it," said G Srinivasan, chairman and managing director of United India Insurance.

Event cancellation cover is based on the money put in by sponsors and advertisers

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The organising committee, however, has moved fast on buying an insurance cover of around Rs 5,500 crore covering the athletes, CWG officials, spectators and directors.

Public sector insurer Oriental Insurance has covered the major part of the risk. The committee has paid Rs 11 crore for a policy of around Rs 5,115 crore to the insurer.

All athletes are insured for Rs 25 lakh each under the group personal accident cover, while all CWG staff and officials are insured for Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh each.

Athletes and officials accompanying them are separately insured under personal accident cover for another Rs 25 lakh each.

The cover insures 7,700 athletes participating in the game and 800 officials accompanying them. In addition, the cover includes around 1,400 Commonwealth Games staff, each of whom is insured for Rs 2 lakh.

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Spectators are insured for Rs 600 crore. Around 60,000 spectators are covered under the third party liability. Under the policy, each spectator will be compensated for Rs 1 lakh if they get injured during the game.

A senior Oriental Insurance executive said the organizer has covered the two replicas of the Queen's Baton for Rs 25 lakh each. The baton will reach Delhi by September 30 carrying a message from the head of the Commonwealth of Nations, currently Queen Elizabeth II of the UK. It is travelling in the country and will reach Delhi by September 30.

The organisers have bought directors' and officers' D&O liability insurance cover of Rs 125 crore to avoid risk arising against any legal liability. The cover will take care of the expenses of defending legal obligation, excluding fraud and other criminal activities.

In addition, the committee has bought a comprehensive general liability of Rs 50 crore.

United India Insurance has covered over 5,000 volunteers for Rs 1 lakh each. Volunteers, generally school girls in this case, will be covered under personal accidents.