Handling agricultural insurance claims during Covid-19 lockdown

30.11.2020 541 views
Traditionally, claim estimates in crop insurance involve travel, farm visits, joint inspections, and closer interaction with the farmer. But now, with strict health and safety measures in place, these activities are limited. So, what happens when a loss adjuster is unable to visit a farm to verify a claim? Fraud detection with GreenTriangle Earlier this year, a farmer made a claim on his crop insurance policy, claiming losses on wheat crop due to frost. However, because of the lockdown, quarantine and numerous claims to handle, the loss adjuster was unable to visit the farmer's fields before the harvest and therefore could not verify the claim on time. The loss adjuster used GreenTriangle’s platform and compared the claimed fields with neighboring fields and declared residual yield with modelled yield range provided by GreenTriangle. He was able to identify two things that didn't match the farmer's claim: there had been no occurrence of frost for any of the claimed fields and the vegetative development as per the mobile app’s charts was heterogeneous but only slightly below normal levels. Figure 1: Vegetative development of the insured fields slightly below normal vegetation health in April and May (red: low vegetation health, green: high vegetation health) This was easy to spot as each insured field gets its own timeline that shows:
  • historical and up to date information about the field condition and its vegetative health, including samples;
  • the range of potential yield levels;
  • the occurrence of each insured peril: drought & flooding; hail; heatwaves, early and late frost.
According to the weather and remote imagery records, a near to total loss claim was unjustified. The heterogeneity of the field was not due to any frost event. The insurer's response was instant: the GreenTriangle's PDF report of the policyholder’s farm was generated and attached to the claim file, while following the requirements attributed to travel restrictions and social distancing. This kind of situations could be spotted several times across GreenTriangle's insurance portfolios. Figure 2: Heterogeneous vegetative health across the insured field (red: low vegetation health, green: high vegetation health) Peril Identification Remote monitoring software has benefits beyond the detection of erroneous insurance claims. It can also help adjusters differentiate the impacts of adverse weather events and diseases on the crop’s yield. In July 2020, sugar beet fields in central Europe were suffering from both beet yellow virus (BYV) and drought. Loss adjusters were struggling to quantify the individual impact of the disease – which was uninsured, and drought – which was insured. Figure 3: Vegetative development of the sugar beet field showing a recovery in September after the significant rainfall events (red: low vegetation health, green: high vegetation health) If the differentiation between the insured and uninsured peril is not properly made, either the farmer or insurance provider would lose on the claim payout. Unable to visit the farm for several times to assess the dynamics of the crop development, the loss adjuster turned to remote sensing imagery. By examining vegetation health and soil moisture on a weekly basis before and after rainfall events, the impact of the drought was separated from the impact of the virus. Thus, the loss adjuster was able to calculate insured losses more accurately and authorize payout entitled to the policyholder. The future of the digitized agriculture insurance claim process The digitized agriculture insurance claims process offers great promise. Such a technology can facilitate accurate fraud detection, objective sampling, claims verification, provide remote yield estimates, reduce loss assessment costs, etc. Beyond these benefits, the digitalization of field data collection process has a great potential to pave the further way to individual field level risk analysis and insurance cover designs. Year 2020 will certainly be remembered as the year when COVID-19 changed the world, affecting the insurance business towards accelerated digital transformation. If you need more information or if you have questions, please contact info@green-triangle.com or visit the website www.green-triangle.com. The article sponsored by GreenTriangle (www.green-triangle.com)
28.03.2024

Canada - How Sask.'s new budget does and doesn't address climate change

The world is facing record heat from human-caused climate change brought on by carbon dioxide and methane emissions, but the words "climate change" don't appear once in Saskatchewan's newly released 75-page 2024-25 budget.

28.03.2024

Kenya - How crop insurance is transforming agriculture

Kenyan farmers continue to face challenges due to unpredictable weather conditions. As a result, they are turning to insurance coverage for their crops and livestock. Insurance experts have reported that most farmers who are insuring their crops are smallholders who rely on rain-fed agriculture and use low-technology farming methods.

28.03.2024

USA - How spring temperature fluctuations, early blooms are impacting Centre County fruit farmers

Plenty of people in Centre County got outside to enjoy temperatures in the 60s and 70s earlier this month, but spring weather fluctuations continue to cause concern for local fruit farmers.

28.03.2024

USA - Farmers use helicopters to warm crops amid spring freezes

An early spring this year means more work for farmers as early blooms face freezing temperatures. Les Dozier's Sta-N-Step Farms has served Northwest Arkansas since 1989. His farm is one of many facing freezing temperatures that could ruin crops.

28.03.2024

Ireland - Potato will be scarce by June, farmers praying for rain to stop

Farmers have to "watch, hope and pray" for a "sweet spot" of dry weather in the coming weeks or many will have to debate whether to plant at all this year. As continuous rainfall adds to already saturated ground, many big and small potato farmers are warning that the Irish favourite variety of Rooster may be in scarce supply by June.

28.03.2024

USA - Several metro Atlanta counties declared natural disaster zones after severe drought

More than 30 Georgia counties — including 10 in metro Atlanta — have been designated “primary natural disaster areas” by the United States Department of Agriculture, the agency announced Thursday.

27.03.2024

Turkey - Climate change may affect grape cultivation

A recent study has highlighted the impact of the climate crisis on viticulture in Turkey, predicting that the expected rise in temperatures and reduced rainfall could shift the suitability of vineyard regions for grape production over the next three decades.

27.03.2024

Crop crisis reveals El Niño’s toll on Southern Africa

New findings from the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (Enso) reference group highlight the significant impact of the 2023/24 El Niño event on various aspects of climate and agriculture in Southern Africa.

istanbul escort şişli escort tbilisi escort şişli escort şişli escort maslak escort istanbul escort beşiktaş escort taksim escort izmir escort ümraniye escort mecidiyeköy escort şişli escort taksim escort ümraniye escort kartal escort şirinevler escort maltepe escort istanbul escort ümraniye escort kadıköy escort vip escort mersin escort istanbul escorts ataköy escort avcılar escort beylikdüzü escort okmeydanı escort şişli escort tuzla escort işitme cihazı sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop