The producers of Nord-Ost never insured their property, their actors’ lives, or their liability to the audience. As a result, the production company Link, that staged Nord-Ost, following the terror attack, has found itself facing the task of restoring the ruined scenery, furniture and sophisticated lighting equipment out of its own pocket.
Not only the Nord-Ost theatre centre but also the former House of Culture building, in which the theatre is situated, has sustained considerable material damage resulting from the hostage-taking and subsequent storming. The House of Culture belongs to a Moscow ball bearing plant.
''The former House of Culture was not insured either. It turns out that nobody owes anything to anyone. We will have to restore the building at our own expense, and the Nord-Ost organizers – the equipment,'' the plant’s spokesman Dmitry Zharnikov said.
It is noteworthy, that on the eve of the hostage-taking drama, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov moved to overhaul the city government’s coordination council for insurance. Before, the board comprised 20 representatives of the city authorities and was headed by vice-mayor Oleg Tolkachyov. The mayor’s office said that the revised board would be more effective and professional. Its core will be comprised of vice-mayors, and Luzhkov himself will head it.
The document to that effect has already been drawn up and is awaiting Luzhkov’s signature. It is likely that by the end of next month the reorganized insurance board will begin its work.
So far, nobody has outlined the concrete measures that the board plans to take. ''But since Luzhkov will head the board himself, it is clear, that much attention will be paid to insurance in principle,'' the only representative of the insurers’ association both on the previous and on the new board Vladimir Krouglyak told Gazeta.Ru. According to Krouglyak, the mayor especially emphasized the importance of insuring mass events a few weeks ago on City Day, marked in Moscow in early September.
It would be logical to assume that the recent terror attack has only served to convince Luzhkov further that he was right in paying special attention to insurance. Therefore, it looks like the Moscow government will soon ask the organizers of all mass events to insure their liability to their audience.
Of course, this novelty will be of particular advantage to insurance companies.
For more than a year now the Terrorism Risk Insurance Pool formed by six leading insurance firms has been operating in Moscow.
Insurance firms are convinced that the introduction of mandatory insurance of liability for damage to property, as well as to the life and health of the audience would be useful.
''Nowhere in the world are mass events held without the organizers being insured. This practice needs to be adopted in Russia,'' says Andrei Dombrovsky, the head of the corporate liability department of Ingosstrakh – the company, under whose auspices the Terrorism Risk Insurance Pool was formed. ''At this, terrorism coverage may be considered as an option on an insurance agreement.''
Nord-Ost’s rivals are ready to learn from its mistakes. ''The compulsory insurance of liability to the audience, is, in my opinion, the right move,'' said the producer of 42nd Street Boris Krasnov. ''The only thing that needs to be taken into account is the price of the tickets. They are not cheap now and will become even more expensive.''
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