Agri-insurance coverage needs to expand, says FSR report

The report says only 4% of farmers reported having crop insurance and only 19% of the farmers ever used any crop insurance

Agricultural insurance needs to expand, says the Financial Stability Report of the Reserve Bank of India.

Coverage remains low, it notes. Crop insurance is inherently riskier and costlier than other segments, as incidence of failure is not randomly or independently distributed. Weather-related events affect an entire area and population at the same time.

The report says only four per cent of farmers reported having crop insurance and only 19 per cent ever used any. “Coverage in terms of value of agri output is also  small. With limited coverage and a relatively high premium, insurance schemes, unless carefully designed, are prone to become unviable,” it said.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India is allowing micro insurance agents to work with Agriculture Insurance Company of India, formed by the four government-owned general insurance companies) for distribution of schemes. And, has imposed obligations on insurers for cover to the rural and poorer sections of society.

It has also been decided to use the agency network of the four government-owned general insurance companies to sell crop insurance. In this regard, IRDAI has given its approval for the co-insurance agreement between Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) and the four public general insurers which will cover only non-loanee farmers under Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).

The report said that since the threshold yield of the area (block) in the past three or five years is used as the basis for assessing the extent of crop loss for individual farmers, farmers are further discouraged from buying such an insurance product. It also said that compulsory linking crop insurance with bank credit availed by a farmer makes the insurance product a 'compulsory' add-on cost for a farmer.

According to an Assocham-Skymet study, 32 million farmers have been enrolled in various crop insurance schemes across India. However, issues in design, particularly related to delays in claims settlement, have led to farmers not being covered, despite significant government subsidy.