By Sara Aggour
A new type of insurance offering coverage to property against acts of violence is gaining popularity ahead of the June 30 demonstrations, when violence is expected to ignite as activists seek to overthrow President Mohamed Morsi a year into his tenure.
Clients who have registered for political violence coverage will be compensated for losses resulting from violence committed during political upheavals through terrorist acts, sabotage, insurrection and malicious damages.
Mohamed Abdel Mawla, director of technical affairs at Wethaq Takaful Insurance Company, identified political violence damage as “vandalism of properties that result from the participation of groups in a political action.”
Fears of violence have increased demand for political violence policies issued by insurance companies. Abdel Mawla stated that registration and issuance of the policy have increased significantly during the past weeks.
Adel Moussa , the chairman of Misr Insurance Holding Company , explained that other losses are also included in the policy, such as losses caused by labour strikes.
When asked about the amount of compensation each client would receive, Moussa explained that the amount varies according to the damages’ assessment. “Clients will be compensated based on the size of losses that they experience,” he added.
The policy excludes damages that are caused by fires, robberies and thefts that are not related to the occurrence of political events.
