Crop insurance premium may change in PMFBY 2.0

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Crop insurance premium may change in PMFBY 2.0
Kolkata, Mar 2 () The premium of crop insurance islikely to be revised after the Union Cabinet approved thechanges in the existing Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, anofficial said.

Under the new farm insurance scheme which is alsoconsidered as PMFBY 2.0, the government made major changesmaking it optional for farmers.

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Launched in February 2016 by Prime Minister NarendraModi, it is mandatory for loanee farmers to take insurancecover under the PMFBY. Currently, 58 per cent of the totalfarmers are loanees.

"We are waiting for the detailed guidelines. Yes, Ithink we will have to revisit our products and premium of cropinsurance, taking into account the new developments," chairmanand managing director of Agriculture Insurance Company ofIndia Ltd, Malay Kumar Poddar told .

The state-owned crop insurance company official,however, did not disclose whether the premium would beincreased or not, but experts said that it may head north fora particular risk coverage.

"Now, with crop insurance being made optional for bothagriculture loanee and non-loanee, the number of farmers underthe coverage may come down, which could lead to an increase ofthe underwriting cost," an insurance company official said oncondition of anonymity.

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In the existing scheme, there are five riders in thecrop insurance coverage but under the new scheme, one can pickand choose the risk cover according to one's need, Poddarsaid.

AICIL currently has a licence for crop insurance inthe country and has sought approval from the InsuranceRegulatory and Development Authority of India for offeringmore products covering other verticals of agriculture andallied sectors, he said.

The company said it aims at offering "comprehensive"insurance products for the rural population rather thanrestricting itself to crop insurance.

Poddar said he expects to get the regulator's nod innear future for "rural comprehensive insurance product thatwill cover all areas related to agriculture, aquaculture,animal husbandry and farm equipment".

He also hoped that the company will be able to bringdown the total cost of insurance with the comprehensive policyby covering all risks of a farmer's livelihood. BSM BDCRG RG
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