The central government's premium-subsidized agricultural insurance has been strengthened to benefit farmers.

The upgrading of agricultural insurance products subsidized by the central government at the beginning of this year has been completed, covering a total of 738 agricultural insurance products in 15 categories of crops and 6 types of farmed varieties, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said on the 13th. After upgrading the protection of agricultural insurance products has been greatly improved the insurance liability has been significantly expanded and the efforts to benefit farmers have been continuously enhanced.

Since the central government implemented the premium subsidy policy of agricultural insurance in 2007, agricultural insurance has developed rapidly and its ability to serve agriculture, rural areas and farmers has been significantly enhanced. In 2014, agricultural insurance achieved a premium income of 32.57 billion yuan, provided risk protection of 1.66 trillion yuan, insured 247 million households, and covered more than 1.1 billion mu of major crops.

With the continuous development of agriculture in China, the original agricultural insurance clauses can no longer meet the needs of agricultural risk management under the new situation. Narrow insurance liability, low security level and strict claim settlement conditions have become the strongest problems reflected by the majority of farmers.

After the upgrading of agricultural insurance products, the insurance liability has been significantly expanded. On the basis of the original natural disasters, planting insurance has increased major disasters such as drought and earthquake, geological disasters such as debris flows and landslides, as well as diseases, insect pests and rodents; the insurance liability of the aquaculture industry extends to all diseases and epidemics. The security level of major food crops has been greatly improved, and the amount of insurance in most provinces and cities across the country has covered direct physical and chemical costs, and the average security level has increased by 10% to 15%.

At the same time, the standard of compensation for agricultural insurance has been raised, and the conditions for settling claims have been reduced. The upgraded product cancels the absolute exemption clause and raises the standard of compensation for crops at different growth stages and in the case of no-yield. Major agricultural provinces have lowered insurance rates according to risk characteristics, risk distribution and operation in recent years, and planting insurance premiums in some areas have dropped by nearly 50%.

He Hao, deputy director of the Finance and Insurance Department of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, said that in the next step, the CIRC will improve the product management system, formulate demonstration provisions for major crop insurance, improve the risk zoning and premium rate floating mechanism of agricultural insurance, and continue to play a positive role in supporting agriculture and benefiting agriculture.