India to establish nuclear insurance pool

The Indian government is set to form a nuclear insurance pool, which will be administered by GIC Re.

According to GIC Re, the objective of forming the pool is to ensure availability of appropriate insurance cover to meet the requirements as stipulated in the Civil Nuclear Liability Act 2010. The act brought third party liabilities following nuclear events under the ambit of the Indian Parliament.

Liability insurance cover will be underwritten by public sector non-life insurance company The New India Assurance Company.

Around Rs750 crore (approximately $125 million) of capacity will be brought in from the five PSU non-life insurance companies, including GIC Re, with the remaining Rs750 ($125 million) being guaranteed by the Indian Government.

GIC Re added that it was also exploring other avenues for gathering the capacity.

“The Indian Government and the Indian Insurance Industry are together working on a solution to provide third party liability cover for the nuclear industry in India. However, it is still work in progress,” said GIC Re.