Haryana: Insurance Firms Reluctant to Insure Rabi Crops in Cluster-II Districts

Insurance firms are showing unwillingness to provide cover for the rabi crops in Cluster-II of Haryana, comprising Hisar, Jind, Gurugram, Karnal, Sonepat and Ambala, for the 2023-24 season. 

This was revealed when none of the firms were selected under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). 

As per information revealed to The Tribune, the tenders floated by the Agriculture Department to hire an implementing agency for the PMFBY for the Rabi season 2023-24 to 2025-26 did not find any takers except for one private insurance firm. 

Following this development, the Department has asked the bank not to deduct insurance premiums for the rabi season from Kisan credit cards and other bank accounts associated with the loanee farmers. In the existing system, the banks automatically take out premiums for farmers' accounts to pay the insurance firms. 

A farmer from Kirtan village blamed the state government for botching up the crop insurance scheme. 

The news about there being no private takers for insurance of rabi crops for the following season was confirmed by Dr Rajbir Singh, Deputy Director of the Agriculture Department. 

As per information accessed by The Tribune, the reluctance on the part of insurance firms can be understood by the losses they suffered in insuring the last Kharif crop in Cluster-II districts. As per the sources, "the insurance firm got a total premium of Rs 304 crore but had to pay the claim of about Rs 515 crore."

In the last season, around 2.55 lakh hectares of rabi crops were insured in Cluster-II districts. Besides gram and wheat, some rabi crops like sunflower, barley, and mustard are also covered under the PMFBY.