KBC Insurances, AgriVer and OFH combine their expertise in the field of weather insurance.
Landbouwers en fruittelers kunnen zich voortaan verzekeren voor schade aan gewassen ten gevolge van extreem weer
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 — KBC yesterday signed an agreement with the Mutual hail insurance company AgriVer B.A. and with OFH (Mutual Fruit growers Hail insurance). As a result, KBC customers can now be insured against damage to crops and fruit caused by extreme and unfavourable weather conditions.
AgriVer B.A. specialises in damage to agricultural and horticultural crops and OFH insures fruit growers against damage caused by hail and other weather risks in fruit cultivation.
In this cooperation AgriVer B.A. will offer the insurance for arable and horticultural crops and OFH will offer the insurance for fruit cultivation. The KBC insurance agents play their role of intermediary and expert to the full by guiding and supporting the farmer in taking out this new insurance.
KBC Insurances, AgriVer B.A. and OFH are since Friday 20 September part of recognized companies[1] that offer a broad weather insurance. This means that, from next year, farmers who take out insurance can receive a subsidy of up to 65% of the annual insurance premium[2].
[1] List published on Friday 20 September 2019 by The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
[2] exclusive of insurance tax
From 2020, the rules on (agricultural) disasters will change and the Flemish government will provide premium subsidies when taking out a comprehensive weather insurance policy. For example, farmers and horticulturalists with open cultivation can protect themselves against damage to crops caused by extreme and unfavourable weather conditions with a private insurance company. A recognised comprehensive weather insurance covers at least the phenomena of storm, hail, frost, ice, rainfall and drought. If there is damage to the crops as a result of unfavourable weather conditions, this will be dealt with between the farmer and the insurer, in accordance with the policy conditions.
Hans Verstraete, managing director of KBC Insurances: "Thanks to our market share of more than 50% in Flanders, we can say that we have a great deal of expertise in this area. As soon as KBC Insurances became aware of the new regulations, it actively searched for a suitable solution for claims as a result of extreme weather conditions, within the framework set by the government.
KBC finally opted for a collaboration with two Dutch insurers, namely AgriVer B.A. and OFH (Onderlinge Fruittelers Hagelverzekering). AgriVer and OFH each have more than 10 years of experience with this type of insurance in arable and horticultural crops on the one hand and hard fruit cultivation on the other hand. This allows KBC Insurances to combine the knowledge and network it developed in Flanders with the expertise of AgriVer and OFH and to provide the customer with an optimal solution in the event of damage incurred as a result of extreme weather conditions.
"In case of damage, our customers can call upon a claims handler who is familiar with damage caused by extreme weather conditions and this damage can be assessed and dealt with more efficiently, continues Hans Verstraete".
Marien Boersma, director AgriVer: "AgriVer is a specialised mutual insurer with more than 125 years of experience in insuring agricultural risks for its members, a good tailor-made product. The professional network of KBC with the expertise of AgriVer forms a very strong tandem."
Gert Jan van Dijk, director of OFH: "OFH is specialized with more than 65 years of experience in insuring fruit crops against hail damage and other weather risks. OFH aims to be a safety net for fruit growers affected by damage. OFH insures on a mutual basis such as AgriVer and not for profit."