Bharti AXA General Insurance, a private general insurer, has received ₹800 crore worth crop insurance mandate from the governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka to insure their farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

This general insurer has received the authorisation for a period of three years from both the State governments to implement the PMFBY in six districts of Maharashtra and three districts of Karnataka.

Farmers in the districts of Ahmednagar, Nashik, Chandrapur, Solapur, Jalgaon and Satara in Maharashtra and Dharwad, Mysuru and Kodagu in Karnataka can insure their Kharif crops till July 31 through their respective banks or authorised representatives of the company.

“We have been chosen to provide crop insurance cover to farmers in some districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka under the PMFBY which protects them from the uncertainties and vagaries of nature. We aim to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities. Apart from implementing crop insurance for farmers in both the states, we will also capitalize on innovative technologies and digital capabilities for sharing relevant information about the PMFBY and ensure speedy and hassle-free claim assessments in the respective districts,” said Sanjeev Srinivasan, Managing Director & CEO, Bharti AXA General Insurance.

The PMFBY offers insurance cover to farmers against losses of crops during the entire cycle from preparation of sowing to harvesting and post-harvest, due to poor yield.

‘All farmers eligible’

Srinivasan said all farmers including sharecroppers and tenant farmers growing the notified crops in the notified districts are eligible for crop insurance coverage. They can avail themselves of detailed information about the scheme from the agriculture offices, banks, Common Service Centres and the company’s registered offices in Maharashtra and Karnataka and obtain the insurance cover under the PMFBY.

The crop insurance would cover the farmers against any losses in crop yields on area approach basis arising out of a wide range of external risks such as flood, dry spells, drought, landslides, cyclones, hurricane, pest and diseases and localised calamities among others. It offers insurance cover for all stages of the crop cycle including pre-sowing to harvesting and post-harvest risks.

Bharti AXA General Insurance has so far insured 28.44 lakh farmers from Bihar, Karnataka, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Maharashtra . It secured 8.83 lakh farmers from Gujarat, Jharkhand and Maharashtra in 2019-20. Under this scheme, the company has offered crop insurance benefits to more than 3.8 lakh farmers.

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