HDFC ERGO sets up remote sensing lab for crop insurance

Private general insurance company HDFC ERGO General Insurance has set up a remote sensing lab for crop insurance. In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Anurag Rastogi, Member of Executive Management, HDFC ERGO said the lab will work on accurately assessing the risks of the insurers and will also be able to give early warnings about the losses.

“With this, we will be able to prepare the teams in advance and also make assessments in a scientific manner. Further, early warnings about adverse conditions can be given to the government as well the farmers,” he added.

The company has hired a specialist in the area of remote sensing to look into the data and assess the information so that predictions can be made. Remote sensing involves setting up scanning an area through the use of satellite to get deeper information about that region.

In the earlier crop insurance schemes that were based on weather, there were a few instances of farmers submitting fraudulent claims with respect to crop yield data and crop loss. For this, physical assessments used to be carried in locations to determine the extent of the loss.

The agriculture ministry called for use of modern technology like remote satellites and drones for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) which is a crop insurance scheme subsidised by the government.

The government is also encouraging insurers to use smartphones and remote sensing to reduce crop cutting experiments and help cut delay in payments to farmers.

HDFC ERGO was one of the first non-life insurers to use drones on a pilot basis to look into estimate losses from any catastrophic events for the crop areas that they covered.

Rastogi, however, added they are not going aggressive in the crop insurance business. “We are retaining whatever states we had exposure in. The market is getting very competitive,” he added.

PMFBY said each state has to conduct a certain number of crop cutting experiments (CCEs) to get basic estimates about crop yields in each area. This data is then submitted to the insurance company within a time limit. This information is crucial because it gives the insurance company an idea of how much crop is estimated to be produced in each region for the Kharif and Rabi seasons.

With the use of technology, HDFC ERGO can predict any impending risks much earlier and hence also help the farmers prepare better for any anomalies.