Before 1999, the Indian film industry never considered insuring the projects that were undertaken. Despite all the uncertainty and risk involved, the insurance considered Bollywood uninsurable mainly because the industry was considered unorganized.
In 1999, Subhash Ghai insured his movie Taal for a Sum Insured of Rs. 11 Crore – the first such insurance for any movie in India. This was undertaken by the United India Insurance Company (UIIC).
According to Subhash Ghai, he often saw a lot of losses arising during the filmmaking process as a result of which producers often suffered. “Actors falling ill, sets collapsing, rain disrupting shoots and causing films to halt production – I used to see that producers suffered losses.” he said.
It was hard to get a film financed by a bank or insured by an insurance company because the film industry was not recognized. This changed when the government recognised the industry in 1997-98. Banks became willing to finance films and Insurance companies were more willing to take on risks associated with filmmaking.
Starting with Taal, the UIIC introduced the Mukta Cine insurance policy which was designed to cover risks such as Cast Insurance, Errors and omissions, production insurance (including workers’ compensation, general liability and commercial auto insurance, delays and reshoots due to inclement weather, equipment failure, set damage etc.)
Taal’s production went smoothly from an insurance perspective and the film released to critical acclaim and earned five times its budget.
What about the first claim in Bollywood?
The film Mohabbatein was also insured by UIIC which then had to pay a claim that arose from delays in shooting which resulted in financial loss to Yash Raj Films. The exact amount of the claim is unknown but the film was insured for a sum insured of Rs. 15 Crores!
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