The temple board of Tirupati Balaji temple of Lord Venkateswara in the Andhra Pradesh state of India, plans to insure the Lord’s jewellery worth around Rs 52,000 crore. Although the exact value of the ornaments is yet being assessed by an in-house team at the temple, the board - Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam ( TTD) states the ornaments are of about 20 tonnes of gold and diamond jewellery, some belonging to the 12th century, which it says fall under the antique category. Such ornaments are expected to be insured based on their historical value.

The temple is believed to be the richest in terms of the value of the ornaments of its lord. The TTD considers the insurance value to be an very huge to be met by a single insurance company and is looking at partnering a state-owned general insurance. The selected insurer will have to strike a reinsurance deal with an international reinsurer, according to reports.