Agriculture Insurance Company looks at technology-aided assessment methods
Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) of India Limited, the public sector organisation engaged in providing insurance cover for various crops, is in discussions with various commodity boards for exclusive crop-specific insurance schemes.
A senior official of the Agriculture Insurance Company said that one of the goals of the company was to speed up settlement of insurance claims by farmers and the company was exploring new technology, including deployment of drones, coupled with conventional claim assessment methods for speedy settlements.
This would also enhance the accuracy of granular level claim assessment even in calamity-like situations where human intervention may not be possible.
Though there were around 20 lakh farmers in Kerala, only about one lakh came under crop insurance cover. The massive gap in insurance coverage was mostly because Kerala had more plantation crops like coconut, rubber, cardamom, coffee and tea that were not covered under insurance. At the same time, there was a big need for insurance cover for plantation crops due to the ever-changing climatic conditions, the official added.
The official also said a scheme for cardamom would be launched shortly in association with the Spices Board. Likewise, a scheme was being devised for rubber plantations in consultation with the Rubber Board. The public sector crop insurance company was waiting for Rubber Board’s confirmation for the implementation of the scheme.
AIC of India Limited was constituted in December 2002 to cater for the crop insurance requirements of the country. The General Insurance Corporation of India, National Bank for Agriculture And Rural Development, National Insurance Company Limited, The New Indian Assurance Company, The Oriental Insurance Company and United India Insurance company are shareholders in the AIC.
“Technology integration in crop insurance is promoted strongly by the Union government and it is of great significance for the success of crop insurance,” the official added. There are around 5.5 crore farmers who have taken crop insurance cover across the country, and around 3 crore of these farmers are served by AIC.
Source: Read Full Article