Russia sets a record for crop area insurance

Russia has set a record for the insurance of the sown area by the end of 2024, the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture reported on February 7.

"Last year, the area under subsidized insurance contracts, according to preliminary data, reached 14 million hectares. This is 17.9% of all crops in the country (excluding household farms) and is the maximum indicator for all time. This year the insured area is planned to increase up to 20% of the total sown area," the press service of the Ministry explained.

They also noted that the interest of agricultural producers to the program of insurance in case of natural disasters is growing. If in 2022, 2.2 million hectares were insured against the risk of emergencies, last year the figure increased almost three times, up to 6.2 million hectares.

The number of animals under subsidized insurance contracts, according to operational information for 2024 amounted to 11.5 million conventional heads, i.e. 38% of the total number of livestock in the country. At the same time, in a number of regions almost the entire livestock is insured. In 2025, it is planned to reach the total indicator of 50%.

At the same time, payments under insurance contracts with state support more than doubled in 2024. According to the National Union of Agricultural Insurers, the total amount of insurance indemnities reached 5.4 billion rubles.

It should be noted that in 2025 the system of agricultural insurance with state support will undergo a number of changes that will increase its attractiveness for farmers. Thus, from September 1, the maximum deductible on crop and planting insurance contracts will be reduced from 50 to 30% of the sum insured. This will increase the amount of insurance indemnity under contracts with high deductible. Changes will also affect animal husbandry: the list of insured events will be supplemented with new ones, such as seizure of animals, floods, floods.

A new version of the methodology for determining the insured value and the amount of loss of agricultural crops and perennial plantings has been developed. Among other things, a new procedure for calculating the amount of insured value of apple, pear, plum, cherry and cherry crops is proposed for gardeners, which will take into account the technology of cultivation of agricultural crops, and, in addition, the quality of fruit - for apple trees.

The National Union of Agroinsurers has also prepared amendments to the rules of insurance of agricultural crops and perennial plantings. The key point is to reduce the number of documents for settlement of losses and the terms of insurance payments. For such risks as hail, large hail, floods, flooding, waterlogging, floodwaters, landslide, avalanches, it is proposed to exclude the requirement to provide a certificate from Rosgidromet.

Earlier, on December 19, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin said about the importance of attracting personnel to work in agriculture. He urged to talk about it constantly, to create conditions for young people to come and work in this sector of the economy with interest.