Local insurers’ heads yet to be turned by agriculture

March 10, 2011 | 11:14

(0) user say

Local insurers have yet to be attracted by a pilot agriculture insurance programme.

illustration photo

Under Decision No.315/QD-TTg on agriculture insurance, farmers living in 21 chosen provinces will be insured against natural disasters and epidemics. The programme will take place from July 1 to the end of 2013.

The state will provide poor and close-to-poor farmer households with 100 and 80 per cent costs of the programme respectively, while backing other farming individuals 60 per cent and agricultural organisations 20 per cent the costs.

With more than 70 per cent population operating in agricultural sector and living in rural areas, Vietnam has huge opportunities for agricultural insurers. This kind of insurance, otherwise, is a essential as the nation sets VND200 billion ($9.6 million) to VND400 billion ($19.3 million) for aiding farmers against frequent natural calamities.

However, few domestic insurers want to join the agricultural insurance market as damage caused by natural calamities is too huge to cover. Almost all insurers said it was difficult to assess the damage.

There remained numerous things to do to carry out in the pilot programme, said Nguyen Xuan Thuy, deputy general director for Bao Viet Insurance. The state-owned giant insurance indicated that it would take part in the programme.

Thuy said Bao Viet’s employees were thinly scattered in the provinces.

“Agricultural insurance is quite new which needs human resources investment,” said Thuy.

Under the decision, participants engaged in the insurance programme have to meet certain conditions, including insurance subjects, insurance rights, participation into agricultural insurance and payment of insurance fees and real production.

The programme will cover certain subjects in certain localities as below: