Egypt: Govt initiatives spur insurers to focus on agricultural business
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Oct 2018
There is greater interest among insurers in agricultural insurance following the allocation of EGP2.6bn ($145.4m) for agricultural projects by the government for the current fiscal year ending June 2019, said media reports.
Mr Alaa El-Zoheiry, chairman of the Insurance Federation of Egypt and managing director of the Arab Misr Insurance Group (gig), said the association has developed a plan for the development of agricultural insurance alongside microinsurance.
He recommended that insurers place agricultural insurance as a top priority in light of the increasing volume of agricultural investments and the increase in agricultural land and agricultural reclamation projects in the Egyptian market. Insurance is needed to protect these projects and investments.
Some technical studies had been undertaken which pointed to the necessity to make agricultural insurance mandatory, given the risks that are almost certain to occur in agriculture, he said.
Mr Ahmed Morsy, chairman and MD of Misr Takaful Insurance, said the main obstacle facing insurers wishing to expand agricultural insurance products is the lack of sufficient data on the insured farmers, the size of the land, and the need to identify agricultural land in Egypt.
The demand for agricultural insurance is almost non-existent, said an insurance broker, adding that one way to increase demand is to urge banks of farmers to require farmers to purchase insurance before giving them farm loans. This will help spread insurance awareness among a wide range of customers, which contributes to the protection of a large part of agricultural wealth. M
EGP1 = $0.06