HDFC Ergo covers farmers in Maharashtra under weather insurance

MUMBAI: HDFC Ergo has provided weather based crop insurance for lonee and non-lonee farmers in Maharashtra after getting permission from the state government. The policy called weather based crop insurance scheme (WBCIS) will run as a pilot for loanee and non-loanee farmers for Mrig Bahar in Kharif 2012.

The policy will cover crops such as orange in Akola & Buldhana, guava in Jalna & Buldhana and sweet lime in Aurangabad, Jalna, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed & Buldhana Districts. Weather based crop insurance scheme offers insurance cover to the farmers against losses caused by aberrant weather conditions during the crop cycle.

Insurance scheme is compulsory for farmers who take loans. The premium is deducted from the loan amount. Claim amount will be settled on the basis of data taken from reference weather stations as mentioned in the scheme and managed by independent third party organization.

For Mrig bahar orange crop, farmers will have to pay half of Rs 6,900 while the remaining amount will be contributed by the state and central government.

State run Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited is the biggest insurer in the crop insurance space.