Ganeshas bring riches to insurance firms; GSB gets Rs 235 crore cover

As Ganeshas in Mumbai grow taller and richer, insurance companies are raking in moolah to insure these pricey mandaps dabbed with gold and silver.

A majority of the big mandals are insured by Oriental Insurance Company and New India Assurance, both state-owned. They have seen a whopping 50% jump in the number of mandals approaching them for insurance, as terror threats, burglary, and incidents of fire are on the rise.

This year, the highest insurance cover of Rs 235 crore will be bought by the richest Ganesha at GSB Seva Mandap at King Circle, near Dadar, protecting 68 kilo of 22-carat gold and 327 kilo of pure silver. Lalbaughcha Raja – the most secular Ganesha, with Muslims paying respects to it – has Rs 3 crore worth gold on it, while Mumbai ka Raja has Rs 5 crore worth of yellow metal on it.

Satish Nayak, secretary of the GSB Seva Mandal, said, "We are yet to shortlist the insurance company, but it will be one of the public sector insurance companies with whom we are negotiating for about Rs 235 crore."

Sources said that the New India Assurance Company will be providing the cover for the mandap.

While Lalbaugcha Raja is insured for Rs 51 crore, Mumbai ka Raja is insured for Rs 5.53 crore. The cover also includes public liability like food poisoning and personal accident covers.

Sachin Kharmikar, assistant general manager at Oriental Insurance Company, said, "We are focusing on a larger number of smaller mandals so that insurance reaches the suburban areas. So we have sold policies this year in Bhayander and surrounding areas."

The gold necklace of Mumbai ka Raja, weighing Rs 5.5 kg, is insured for Rs 1.51 crore, while his gold feet weighing 3.5 kg is insured for another Rs 50 lakh. The total sum insured is Rs 5.53 crore, thanks to the cover that includes public liability, fire, terror and all risk insurance.

Swapnil Parab, secretary of the Mumbai ka Raja Mandal Samiti, said, "The mandal is designed as an exact replica of the Badrinath Temple with a height of 70 feet and length of 100 feet. We have maintained the height of Ganpati at 22 feet, as we have been following since 1977."

The 24-ft-high Ganesha at Chandanwadi, near Metro theatre in Mumbai, could be the tallest Ganpati this year, pushing Mumbai Ka Raja at 22 feet to second slot.

Adv Naresh Dahibawkar, president of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav Coordination Committee, said, "While the sarvajanik mandals in Mumbai have gone up by 130 mandaps to 11,556, the household Ganeshas have risen by about 25%, to 2.05 lakh Ganeshas."

While the private insurance companies are completely out of the main mandaps they have also started insuring smaller mandaps which did not have a cover before.

Bajaj Allianz has seen a 27% rise in event insurance policies, which include Ganesh mandaps. "The need for event organisers to be prepared for any disaster is becoming increasingly important and so is the role of event insurance to mitigate the risk associated with unanticipated disasters," Bajaj Allianz said in an email response.