Crop insurance grows in value for state-owned insurers

The importance of crop insurance is set to rise steeply at government-owned companies in the segment.

The change is being facilitated by the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY), which has triggered  competition among general insurance companies. Almost all of them expect crop insurance to contribute close to a fifth of their premiums in the next three to four years, from close to nil last year. At present, motor and health insurance together account for close to half their premiums. Till now, public sector general insurance entities were passive distributors of crop insurance schemes administrated by the state-owned Agriculture Insurance