MUMBAI, Aug 27: Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari has called upon the insurance players to develop sustainable agricultural insurance products to help rural people withstand vagaries of nature.
Speaking at the concluding ceremony of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Insurance Institute of India here last evening, Dr Ansari said it is necessary to protect the farmers from natural vagaries and ensure their credit eligibility for the next season. The high rate of suicides of farmers, and the subsequent social and economic impact on the family needs redress.
The Vice-President observed that crop insurance presently covered only about 12 per cent of sown area and in most cases had an adverse claim to premium ratio. He said there were problems with both the design and delivery of crop insurance schemes and called for reducing the level of actuarially fair premium rates to make the insurance option attractive and affordable.
He said agriculture in India was highly susceptible to risks like droughts, floods, pests and diseases. These problems could be overcome to some extent with rainfall insurance with a well developed rainfall measurement infrastructure. Private and public insurers are currently experimenting with rainfall insurance products and the feedback seems encouraging, he added. (PTI)
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