"We are prepared to provide customised services at reasonable costs to anyone who can account for the losses," said Tariff Advisory Committee secretary CN Ravi, while responding to the recent move by the Tatas to provide insurance consultancy to the film industry. Tariff Advisory Committee is the constitutional body to fix premiums for varieties Lack of transparency in the business is the real hurdle for the industry to seek insurance claims, he said.

Unless they offer legal documents for transactions, no insurance company will be in a position make the claim, added the official, wondering that why ABCL and Subhas Ghai productions have not bought insurance covers for their productions. "All insurance products covering material damages and personnel injuries are available here.

Reinsurance can be found out after providing the initial insurance cover to theproducts of the industry,'' said the official, adding that it is not necessary to depend on the foreign market for any initial insurance cover.

"Giving industry status to the filmdom hardly makes any difference to us as we have never declined insurance proposals because of the non-industry status of the industry," he said.

The four subsidiaries of the GIC provide risk coverage to the all kinds of products ranging from cattle to satellite-allied products.

"Satellite insurance is the most complex form of insurance business. In contrast, providing a coverage to the film industry is a much easier task,'' the official said.

Giving an example of the settlement of a third-party insurance claim from the family of a Karnataka actor, who died in a road accident, the official said the insurance company was unable to settle the family's claim as it lacked documentary support about the income of the actor. "The primary problem of the industry is the unavailability of legitimate proofs of the finance," theofficial said, adding that bank finance will be a shot in the arm of the industry.

"The industry can insure itself to the extent they are getting bank finance which might end up in under-insuring a product,'' they `said.

In the past, the Delhi-based Oriental Insurance had insured two or three films of foreign producers. According to the UK-based Clayton Entertainment Insurance Service managing director Will Candy, Indian film professionals, right from producers to actors, have to maintain a lot discipline for availing themselves of insurance services.