The international insurance company Moldasig paid 18.892 million lei in insurance in 2009, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the company. The money was paid under the 77 contracts signed by Moldasig and agricultural companies in the second half of 2008 and in 2009 as part of the state subsidization against risks in agriculture. The compensations for the losses of rape seeds constituted 23.5% of the total sum, of wheat – 18.8%, of sunflower - 10%. About 30% of the payouts went to owners of apple orchards. Moldasig compensated for the losses of cereal crops on an area of about 4,800 hectares as a result of hail, frost and drought, and paid insurance to two swine breeding companies that lost the animals. About 2 million lei in insurance was paid for an apple orchard occupying 121 hectares in Briceni district, which was affected by spring frosts, 1.302 million lei - for a rape field of 734 hectares in Anenii Noi district that was affected by winter frosts, 945,000 lei - for a sunflower field of 360 hectares in Ocnita district hit by drought, 568,000 lei - for a sugar beet field of 99 hectares in Drochia district affected by hail, etc. In 2009, Moldasig insured about 25,000 hectares of farmland, as against 44,000 hectares in 2008: 12.4 hectares against hail (21 ha), 6.5 hectares – against frost (22 ha), 6.1 hectares against drought (4.7 ha). This year, the farmers insured 4.2 hectares of winter wheat, 2.8 hectares of sunflower and 2.5 hectares of winter rape against hail, 3.4 hectares of winter rape, 2 hectares of winter wheat and 598 hectares of orchard against frost, 2.4 hectares of sunflower, 2.1 hectares of winter wheat and 673 hectares of barley against drought. The international insurance company Moldasig was the first to introduce the agricultural insurance in Moldova, in January 2005. Founded in 2002, Moldasig is an insurance leader in Moldova with a market share of 32.2% in the first half of 2009. The insurance premiums attracted in this period were 122.8 million lei, while the payouts – 89.3 million lei, which is 46% of the total insurance payments in Moldova. In 2008, Moldasig joined the insurance group Rosgosstrah, which acquired 80% of the shares in the company. The other 20% are owned by the three founders - Banca de Economii, Moldova's Railways and Moldova's Post Office. The insurance group Rosgosstrah is a leader on the insurance market in Russia and one of the largest insurance operators in Europe. Besides Moldasig, Rosgosstrah owns insurance companies operating in Ukraine and Armenia.