Algeria: More efforts needed to grow agriculture insurance
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2015
Farm insurance premiums amounted to DZD400 million (US$4.1 million) last year, less than 1% of the total turnover of the insurance industry which stood at DZD119 billion, said Mr Cherif Benhabiles, CEO of Caisse Nationale de Mutualité Agricole (CNMA).
Mr Benhabiles called for insurers and the government to increase the penetration of agriculture insurance in Algeria. “We are functioning below the potential of the market and there is still a lot of work to be done in order to make agriculture insurance much more attractive,” he told media.
He said the low penetration of farm insurance could be attributed to factors including poor publicity and low awareness, mismatch between policies proposed by insurers and the needs of farmers, and insurers’ lack of interest in this business.
To give new impetus to agriculture insurance, Mr Benhabiles suggested the government make it mandatory for farmers to buy insurance as a prerequisite to receiving state subsidies.
“There is also a need to review the operation of certain funds dedicated to the agricultural sector, so that they perform economic functions instead of serving merely as subvention vehicles,” he added.
CNMA will be launching new insurance policies covering yield losses of potato and cereal crops, he disclosed.
Founded in 2006, CNMA operates a network of 76 regional branches and 400 local offices in Algeria. It commands 80% of the agriculture insurance market.
DZD1 = US$0.01