Insurance compensations in agriculture exceeded insurance premiums last year

Only 5% of the farmland in Moldova has been insured even if the state last year subsidized 80% of the costs of insuring the crops and animals. The deputy head of the national financial market regulator Aurica Doina said the two insurance companies authorized to work in the field signed 196 contracts to the value of 281 million lei, Info-Prim Neo reports. The aggregate gross insurance premiums were 20.6 million lei, while the insurance compensations were 23.6 million lei, an increase of 80.2% on 2008. MP Veaceslav Ionita, chairman of the parliamentary commission for economy, budget and finance, said the agricultural producers' attitude to insurance has not changed though they sustain losses of millions of lei every year. The recent floods caused damage assessed at over 100 million lei. On the other hand, neither the insurance companies are interested in signing agricultural insurance contracts as they fear they will have to pay compensations larger than the insurance premiums collected. According to the MP, the parliamentary commission is to examine a set of laws that are designed to encourage agricultural insurance, including by joining the Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility that is financed by the World Bank. Another two sets of laws concern the insurance of dwellings and the mandatory health insurance.