Drones may be deployed to expedite crop insurance claim settlements

Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) of India Limited, is in discussions with various commodity boards for exclusive crop-specific insurance schemes.

A senior official of the Agriculture Insurance Company said that one of the goals of the company was to speed up settlement of insurance claims by farmers and the company was exploring new technology, including deployment of drones, coupled with conventional claim assessment methods for speedy settlements.

This would also enhance the accuracy of granular level claim assessment even in calamity-like situations where human intervention may not be possible.

Though there were around 20 lakh farmers in Kerala, only about one lakh came under crop insurance cover. The massive gap in insurance coverage was mostly because Kerala had more plantation crops like coconut, rubber, cardamom, coffee and tea that were not covered under insurance. At the same time, there was a big need for insurance cover for plantation crops due to the ever-changing climatic conditions, the official added.

The official also said a scheme for cardamom would be launched shortly in association with the Spices Board. Likewise, a scheme was being devised for rubber plantations in consultation with the Rubber Board. The public sector crop insurance company was waiting for Rubber Board’s confirmation for the implementation of the scheme.