Swiss Re Banks On Tech To Improve Claim-settlement In Crop Insurance

Global reinsurer Swiss Re is working on using technology to improve claim settlement in crop insurance scheme.

“One example of the new technology we have brought into the country is in the agriculture sector. Satellite imaging is quite powerful these days,” said Amitabha Ray, Head of CM P&C, India, Swiss Re, India Branch.

It can be used very quickly to estimate the drought level or soil moisture content level in the area, he added. Based on the image, in case the area is drought-stricken, farmers can get payments faster. Similarly, the technology can also predict if the soil moisture content is low, which would then mean that going forward the crop output is going to be low.

“You can estimate the deviation that will happen and can settle claims,” said Ray, adding that the use of technology such as this can be a means of value addition to the current methods under the scheme.

In an interaction with BusinessLine, he said the reinsurer also carried out a pilot project recently with the Mahrashtra government.

“We are a big agriculture insurer worldwide. We are trying very hard on making the claim settlement process much faster and smoother with the use of technology. We are also trying to use technology to understand crop losses better,” he said.

In India, it services close to 8-10 per cent of the crop insurance market. Swiss Re, which is the world’s second-largest insurer, set up a branch office in India in 2017.

Satish Raju, CEO, India Branch, Swiss Re, said the company is keen to work across all line of businesses in the country. “We want to utilise our international experience. We are keen to help support the country’s focus in terms of health, crop and help improve insurance penetration. This is our broad-based approach,” he said.