SHANGHAI - Participants and organizers of Expo 2010 Shanghai are spending big money on insurance premiums to ensure the safety of their exhibits and pavilions during the 184-day event.

The Egypt Pavilion paid a premium of $66 million for its eight ancient Egyptian artifacts, including a gold broad collar, said to protect mummies, that dates back to 1550-1525 BC.

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The French Pavilion features seven of the country's most renowned paintings and sculptures. Five of the pieces are each insured for more than 100 million yuan ($14.6 million), according to officials at the pavilion.

"The total insurance premium of the Expo 2010 Shanghai has reached tens of billions of yuan," said Shen Juewen, vice-president of the Shanghai branch of the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC).

"While the Expo Boulevard is insured for the most money of any single structure, the China Pavilion pays the most in premiums for its exhibits. Some of the pavilion's most valuable exhibits, such as the ancient bronze chariots and horses, have been insured for a lot of money, " Shen said.

Shen didn't give the amount of the premium, but industry analysts' early estimates show that the totals of all insurance premiums at the Expo could exceed 30 billion yuan.

The Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination has divided Expo insurance services into three categories: mandatory insurance, stipulated insurance and commercial insurance. The bureau requires mandatory and stipulated insurance, but commercial insurance is voluntary.

With the new high demand for insurance coverage, 12 insurance companies in China formed a union in 2008 under government directives to underwrite the Expo. PICC is the chief insurer of the Expo with a 60 percent share in the union.

The Expo presents new opportunities for Chinese insurance companies and several of them have seen a breakthrough in their business. PICC's commercial general liability insurance signing with Expo organizers in March was the insurer's biggest single deal in the company's history, where it earned premium income of 176 million yuan with 1 billion in liability limits.

According to PICC, five compensation claims were made from the Expo during its six-day soft opening held at the end of April. The claims included two property damage cases, both less than 3,000 yuan; and two tourist injury cases, each less than 1,000 yuan. The company is investigating the cases and arranging compensation.

China Daily