What is the relationship between paying more and paying less? Grain insurance needs to be more "secure", as soon as compensation is paid, insurance companies | big players | relationships will be torn
During the busy season of summer harvest and farming, Half Moon Talk reporters went deep into multiple grain producing areas in Jiangxi to interview major grain growers. They were happy about the abundant summer harvest, but they were a bit uneasy about the issue of grain insurance compensation. Some major grain growers say that the government is now providing most of the funds to encourage them to purchase grain insurance. Everyone has a high enthusiasm for insurance, but when it comes to compensation, they often encounter various disputes, which makes them very injured.
The government pays a large premium, can we compensate a little bit?
Buying insurance for grain cultivation is an important agricultural policy widely implemented from the central to local governments. This year's No. 1 central document stressed that the implementation scope of full cost insurance and planting income insurance for rice, wheat and corn should be gradually expanded.
Improving the agricultural insurance system is an effective means to enhance the ability of agricultural risk protection. Farmers themselves have limited ability to resist risks, and once they encounter problems such as reduced grain production and market volatility, they are prone to reduced income or even returning to poverty. The reporter from Half Month Talk learned that in the southern grain producing areas, rice full cost insurance and other grain insurance have been fully promoted, playing an important role in stabilizing grain production, dispersing grain risks, increasing grain income, and ensuring food security.
Full cost insurance is a type of agricultural insurance that covers the total cost of agricultural production, with a wide range of insurance coverage, including direct physical and chemical costs, land costs, and labor costs, which can effectively provide a bottom line guarantee for food and agriculture.
According to the reporter from the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Finance, starting from 2022, all major grain producing counties in Jiangxi have implemented full cost rice insurance, with the maximum coverage increased from 850 yuan per mu to 1100 yuan. From January to April 2023, the grain producing areas in Jiangxi Province will basically achieve full coverage of insurance services. Generally, insurance is purchased at a ratio of 80% to be borne by the government and 20% to be borne by the food and agriculture sector in various regions. Some grain producing areas adopt the method of government subsidies for individual household expenses and self payment for large household expenses to stabilize the grain growing population and area. Nanchang County and other financially strong grain producing counties have the government covering all insurance premiums, so food and agriculture do not have to pay a penny
"Village officials have been promoting agricultural insurance for many years, and the enthusiasm of villagers to participate is very high." Several major grain growers said that due to the low self payment ratio, most people are willing to participate. The promotion of insurance and the increase in coverage have been widely welcomed by the food and agriculture industry, but in sharp contrast, the frequent disputes and difficulties in insurance claims have caused dissatisfaction among the food and agriculture industry.
Half month talk reporters have found that many grain growers have a mentality of "doubt" and "loss" when facing difficulties in compensation. They said that the high premiums are paid by the government, and insurance companies take advantage of the mentality of the Food and Agriculture Bureau that "it's better to compensate a little" and try their best to compensate less.
"Keep talking until the end of the year, and you won't lose much money."
"Last year, due to the disaster, my 160 acres of land suffered a severe reduction in production. According to the contract standard of 600 yuan per acre, I should have received nearly 100000 yuan in compensation." A major grain grower in Jiujiang City said that after the claims officer arrived at the scene, he said he could only compensate a few thousand yuan. After a series of trials and tribulations, he finally received 30000 yuan in compensation. Some major grain growers have reported that some claims officers are accustomed to reducing compensation payments on the grounds of inadequate management by farmers.
Food and Agriculture reported that some clauses in insurance contracts have poor flexibility and many restrictive conditions, which cannot fully adapt to the complex situations that may arise in farmland.
"If there is a compensation issue that can be brought up until the end of the year, it's not clear, and in the end, there won't be much money to be compensated." A grain grower in Ji'an City believes that insurance companies will play a game of words in contracts to reduce compensation. The farmer said that he planted a 300 acre rice field, which used to yield around 400000 kilograms in previous years. Last year, due to severe drought, he only harvested over 40000 kilograms of millet. "After reviewing, the claims adjuster classified the rice that had reached its mature stage as the growth stage, in order to lower the compensation price."
A major grain grower in Xingan County said that over 200 acres of land suffered from drought last year, and the contract clearly stated that the maximum compensation for the crop failure was 1100 yuan, but generally only two to three hundred yuan can be paid. There were many disputes between the two parties during the loss assessment, and some young loss assessors were not very familiar with agriculture. The grains in the fields were not full enough, and the effective ear loss did not decrease. They could not see it, so they casually compensated a little.
After visiting numerous grain growers, the Half Month Talk reporter immediately interviewed multiple grassroots insurance companies and found that there were frequent accusations between the two sides of the agricultural insurance, and the foundation of mutual trust was weak. Several insurance business leaders have reported to the Half Month Talk reporter that the claims adjuster will strictly determine the loss according to the contract requirements. If there is a dispute between the agricultural insurance parties, local agricultural technicians and village co insurers will be invited to participate in the negotiation. The disaster and loss assessment situations are all photographed and uploaded to the company's backend for review. The compensation results are signed and confirmed by both parties and publicly displayed in the village. "We lost money, but the claims adjuster sweated and still couldn't understand."
During the interview with the reporter, it was found that there are relatively few professional claims personnel and survey equipment in grassroots insurance institutions. Taking a major grain producing county in Ji'an City as an example, there are only four employees in a local agricultural insurance company. If there is a disaster year, the claims adjuster can only be exhausted from dealing with it. Village co insurance officers are generally appointed by village officials without remuneration, and their role is limited in busy village affairs.
Insurance companies cannot
Be both an athlete and a referee
"If a car breaks down, it can be sent to a 4S store for damage assessment. Who can accurately assess the damage of rice when it is damaged?" A grain grower said that the biggest problem with grain insurance is the lack of professional institutions to assess the damage. Last year, the 3600 acres of rice he insured were affected to varying degrees, and the direct loss should have reached more than 1.4 million yuan, but in the end, he only compensated more than 500000 yuan.
According to interviews with reporters from Half Month Talk, currently most county and township level governments have not established effective agricultural insurance claim negotiation platforms and mechanisms. Disputes mainly arise from both sides of the agricultural insurance system, and food and agriculture often lack the right to speak. Some grain growers say that they are too lazy to report disputes to the government, so it's better to establish good relationships with the claims adjuster and compensate more.
A grain grower in Gao'an City stated that all losses caused by the disaster are unilaterally determined by the insurance company. The insurance company "acts as both an athlete and a referee", and farmers may think that the insurance company is trying to compensate less for their own profits. Major grain growers hope to standardize the technical standards for agricultural insurance survey and loss assessment as soon as possible, establish an effective third-party appraisal platform, issue specific guidance regulations, and improve the participation and discourse power of farmers.
At the same time, some insurance companies have also reported that they lack information sharing mechanisms with government departments and are constrained by their limited survey technology, making it difficult to accurately assess losses. They hope that the government can increase basic data and technical support for underwriting, surveying, and loss assessment, and establish an information sharing mechanism with insurance companies to jointly promote precise underwriting and claims settlement.
