In the context of the Gujarat earthquake, how is the insurance scenario in India?
Pretty dismal, actually. India’s population is one billion; only 0.5 per cent of them have any kind of insurance. Earthquake insurance cover is available in India. So is home insurance. Unfortunately, not many individuals take these policies; it is business establishments, industries, etc, who generally seek cover against earthquakes. This is so because quake cover was expensive till recently. Usually, even small business units used to go in for cover against only common hazards like fires. The Indian government feels property worth Rs 100 billion upwards has been destroyed in Gujarat, much of it uninsured. In India, residential complexes/dwellings/houses are rarely insured against calamities like earthquakes. Although insurance penetration level in Gujarat is considered high, it is not yet clear how many houses — thousands of them have been flattened in this disaster — are insured against earthquakes. In the context of insurance, what happens in the aftermath of natural calamities l
