Climate-based agri insurance pushed

A lawmaker is pushing for the creation of a climate-based insurance fund for farmers this year.

During the 2017 Rice Achievers Awards, Sen. Cynthia Villar said she would file a bill that would enable the government, in partnership with the private sector, to provide specialized insurance to farmers affected by typhoons and other natural disasters.

The proposal is seen to make insurance policies more accessible to farmers.

“The [program) will be open to the private sector because PCIC (Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.) is already handling a lot of insurance (programs)… We also want competition. When there’s no competition, sometimes the service is not being improved,” Villar said in an interview.

“We’re doing this for the first time. We studied this for a long time and we hope to have a final version of the bill this year,” she added.

The proposed insurance fund would be handled by the private sector with the Department of Agriculture as the implementing agency. In the bill, part of the country’s calamity fund would be used to pay for insurance policies.

According to the senator, six reinsurance companies have already expressed their interest in improving the government’s insurance program. The companies have yet to submit their proposals.

“We are looking for insurance companies that can do agricultural insurance. We will be getting a company that specializes in providing insurance for agricultural crops so we can get cheaper premiums,” said Villar.