Middle East News - Oman: Commerce chamber pushes for agriculture covers
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Mar 2016
Farmers in Oman may soon be covered by agricultural insurance, said the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI). The OCCI will now have to convince insurers to offer such coverage, and to raise awareness among farmers.
It recently invited the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and insurance companies to discuss the development of new insurance products for the agricultural sector, reported Times of Oman citing a media release from the Chamber.
A meeting took place in late January at OCCI between the Chamber, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and the CMA to discuss proposals to activate agricultural insurance.
Mr Redha Al Saleh, Vice President of OCCI and Head of Insurance, said that after Cyclone Gonu in 2007 as well as other tropical storms, farmers experienced major losses as they were not insured. “Many of them do not have insurance, as insurance companies do not see it as a profitable sector,” he said.
Mr Al Saleh said the insurance companies will have to be convinced to cooperate with the farming sector, as many do not have products that cover agriculture.
In addition, insurance awareness among farmers will have to be improved. “Some of them do not want to insure themselves. So we will have to raise awareness and convince them to get insurance,” he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture will present a working paper on the topic, while the CMA will conduct a survey among insurance companies to gather their views.