With just four days to go, it is raining covers for Indian Premier League-3 (IPL-3).
This time, the non-stop, 45-day cricket carnival has taken no chance and its promoters?the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the apex governing body?and the owners of different franchises have placed a record insurance cover of more than Rs 1,000 crore with state-owned general insurer, the Oriental Insurance Company.
Insurance covers for another Rs 900 crore are still being sought by Sony Entertainment Television (SET), the official broadcaster of the event, which features some of the best cricketing talents in the world. For IPL-2, Sony had bought a cover of Rs 300 crore.
The sum assured for IPL-1 by BCCI was around Rs 750 crore, while for IPL-2 the figure was around Rs 900 crore.
With heightened terror risks all around the sub-continent, IPL-3 has been provided a terrorism cover of Rs 484 crore, and Sony is seeking another Rs 300-crore terror cover for the event.
Sony?s proposed Rs 900-crore cover has Rs 600 crore of weather insurance.
Individually, Kieron Pollard, a West Indies all-rounder, is the most expensive. Mumbai Indians have reportedly paid over $2 million to cover the prized player for Rs 18 crore.
While Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been insured for Rs 11 crore, batting sensation Sachin Tendulkar has been insured for Rs 7.5 crore.
The decision to place Pollard and Dhoni above Tendulkar was entirely on the franchises? perception. It is for the IPL organisers to decide and place values for the players, said a senior Oriental Insurance official.
In a first, each umpire has been insured for Rs 2.5 crore. In another first, the DY Patil stadium where the inaugural match is being played on Friday has taken a cover of Rs 5 crore.
Each franchise has got additional cover of Rs 3 crore-Rs 7 crore for its individual team.
Each of the 60 matches until final has been covered for Rs 10 crore for public liability.
A senior Oriental Insurance official confirmed the number of insurance transactions relating to IPL-3, without revealing the premium. However, insurance sources estimate the premium to be Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore for the entire range of covers.
?The terror cover has been heavily reinsured,?? said the official. Apart from terrorism, other risk covers includes perils like fire, lightning, explosion, storm, tempest, flood, inundation, riots, strikes and malicious acts. The covers will shield BCCI, SET and the franchisees against match cancellation on any of those reasons.