Though a few of the temples in Uttarakhand have opted for a comprehensive insurance cover, insurers are hopeful that the customized covers will witness a rise with the recent flashfloods.
According to sources, some rich shrine like Tirupati and Shirdi have been early movers with the temple boards of the respective shrines opting for a comprehensive cover. United India Insurance is currently providing temple covers to Tirupati, Shirdi, Sri Kalahasti (or the Rahu Ketu temple near Tirupati), Guruvayur temple (Kerala), Kanaka Durga temple (Vijayawada) and the Golden temple at Amritsar.
At Tirupati and Shirdi, the TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) and the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust have also taken personal accident covers for pilgrims due to accidents at the shrine, Milind Kharat, CMD, United India Insurance, said. In the case of Shirdi, the personal accident cover is limited to 25 unnamed pilgrims while at Tirupati, the personal accident cover is more comprehensive which includes death due to accident within 7 kms of the temple area.
According to insurance industry sources, Indian insurers provide temple insurance that covers losses due to flood, fire, earthquake and loss due to theft of idols, ornaments, hundi and crowns and, in some cases, even the golden covering on the domes. These are normally customized covers under property insurance.
In the case of Uttarakhand, where ancient temples dot the Himalayan landscape, insurers say none of the temples opted for a comprehensive cover. Their policy possibly extends only to cash offerings (loss of money in transit from the temple to bank due to floods, burglary, etc) and covers for gold and other jewellery on the idols.
However, idols can be insured as the value of antique pieces like a Shaligram Vishnu idol or a Spatika (crystal) Shiva linga in an ancient temple can be ascertained from international auction houses.
