Gothaer Asigurari Reasigurari: Over 75,000 hectares have been affected this year by hail and storms

Over 75,000 hectares of farmland have been affected this year by hail, storms and floods, compared to 15,000 hectares in the last agricultural year, while the number of claim files approved by Gothaer Asigurari Reasigurari until 1 August exceeded 600, compared to 139 in the previous year, according to the company, quoted by Ziarul Financiar

2016-10-21 21:48:46 - From the Print Edition

In the first eight months, according to data on the agricultural insurance segment, hail is the main cause of the produced damages (65 per cent), followed by torrential rains (23 per cent) and late spring frost. In terms of crops affected, the damage caused to the areas cultivated with wheat held the largest share, followed by rapeseed and sunflower. Other crops that were affected include barley, corn, vine and fruit trees.
"Agriculture is a strategic sector for Romania and its economy, and agricultural insurance must restore a balance when severe weather phenomena threaten farmers′ work and production," said Anca Babaneata, the CEO of Gothaer Asigurari Reasigurari, quoted by ZF. "We try continually to adapt, in a balanced manner, the products and services to meet the needs of this insurance line, especially given that we are faced with an increasingly aggravating frequency and severity. We have invested in technology, efficiency, and we try to prioritize activities and permanently balance our subscriptions depending on the resources and capabilities, so that when something happens we can be close to customers as soon as possible. Just this year we paid, for example, a compensation of over 400,000 RON [almost 90,000 Euro] within seven days from the receipt of the last document required to process the claim file, noting the damage within a record time, namely in the first day one could enter the field after the event."
Romania has about 13.8 million hectares of farmland out of which, in the past years, 8.10 million were mainly cultivated. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, during May-June, almost 64,000 hectares in 16 counties were affected by hail, torrential rain, floods and storms which have caused damage of about 64 million RON (more than 14 million Euro).