More farmers, fisherfolks now have insurance coverage

MANILA, Philippines — Over three million farmers and fisherfolks are now enrolled in government insurance programs, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) said.

Data from the PCIC show that around 3.09 million were enrolled in its insurance programs last year, bulk of which or 1.28 million were rice farmers.

A total of 426,000 corn farmers and about 285,000 high value crop farmers were also enrolled last year, as well as 370,000 livestock and poultry farmers, and more than 47,000 fisherfolks.

The PCIC said 4,000 other farmers and fisherfolks took out insurance for non-crop assets used to support farming and fishing, while nearly 679,000 took out credit and life term insurance.

It added that about 76 percent of the total insured last year were provided free insurance under the Agricultural Insurance for Farmers and Fisherfolk under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).

“With a P3.5 billion allocation in the 2020 General Appropriations Act intended as government premium subsidy, it is the PCIC’s largest program,”the agency said.

The PCIC said farmers and fisherfolks listed in the RSBSA who are actively engaged in production may avail themselves of insurance coverage, free of charge, for their standing crops, poultry and livestock, and non-crop assets used in their farming and fishing operations.

Meanwhile, the PCIC reported that the total insurance provided last year covered about 1.4 million hectares of rice farms, nearly 476,000 hectares of corn farms, about 320,000 hectares planted to high-value crops, and 1.3 million heads of poultry and livestock.

The agency said over P3.5 billion have been paid to some 594,300 farmers and fisherfolks.

“The indemnity payments were for losses due to typhoons, wind and flooding, pests and plant diseases, livestock deaths, and farmer and fisherfolk accidents and deaths,”the PCIC said.

It added that this also includes damage claims for volcanic action, like the Taal Volcano eruption in January last year.

Fully aware of their clients’ immediate need for relief in the face of complete loss or partial destruction of crops and animals, the PCIC set a 20-day period for adjustment, validation and processing of claims. In 2020, the agency has fulfilled this in 86.73 percent of the total claims.

“The cases that were not able to comply involved lack of complete documentation and are currently being reviewed,” the agency said.

Last week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced that the PCIC has relaxed conditions for paying hog raisers for their losses under its insurance program for hogs, in a bid to revitalize hog production amid the African Swine Fever (ASF) epidemic.

“The PCIC board approved the DA proposal to pay losses resulting from government-ordered culling or slaughter of insured hogs, and raise the payable amount up to 100 percent of the insurance cover or the total sum insured,” the DA said.

It added that standard insurance industry policy does not include government-ordered disposal of stocks when epidemics occur among the compensable risks. The DA said indemnity payments are normally pegged at a maximum of 60 percent of total sum insured.

“Bold policy actions are needed in periods of adversity like the hog industry is in now, and we thank the PCIC for this quick response that sends the message the DA and its family of agencies are here to help our stakeholders, particularly the hog industry, build resilience and sustainability,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.

The DA said the move is expected to help encourage the raising of over 10 million heads of swine among commercial and backyard raisers.