Bayer offers private subsidy for agricultural insurance in the country

The accelerated growth in rural insurance contracting is a reality: the insured agricultural area reached 13,7 million hectares in 2020, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), an annual growth of 98%. Premiums (amount paid by policyholders to insurers) accumulated in the first half of 2021 totaled R$4,08 billion, an increase of 37,9% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to Susep (Private Insurance Superintendence). These are data that reinforce Brazilian farmers’ acceptance of the advantages of agricultural insurance.

Aware of this demand, Bayer's agricultural division will be the first company in the sector in the country to offer private subsidies to farmers. "With this project, we are the first agricultural company to pay part of rural producers' insurance. This way, they will have even more incentive to have their crops protected", says Bárbara Danc, loyalty and experience manager for Bayer's agricultural division.

This is an exclusive benefit for customers participating in Impulso Bayer, a loyalty and relationship program, and is another action focused on expanding this service, already sold via the Orbia platform and partners, such as resellers or cooperatives. "Even in a critical scenario with the pandemic, we almost doubled our insured area in size in 2020 and we see room to maintain this growth rate", says Bárbara. Today, the area protected by agricultural insurance in Brazil corresponds to just 20% of the total cultivated, a factor that reinforces the potential for expansion.

Launched in 2019 to help farmers and the entire agribusiness production chain, Bayer's insurance platform is the first 100% digital on the market. "In partnership with the startup Agristamp, we understand that, through digitalization, we would be able to deliver to the farmer the transparency and agility that he so requested when carrying out this type of contract. In less than 15 minutes, the farmer himself enters the system and enters the data The analysis is quick and he can already have his crop insured on the same day", highlights the executive.

The subsidy on the final value of the insurance varies from 5% to 15%, according to the customer's classification in the Impulso Bayer program, and this subsidy offered by the company will be complementary to the traditional PSR (Rural Insurance Premium Subsidy Program), offered annually by the Federal Government, or other state subsidies.

"We are going through an unprecedented and very interesting moment for the rural insurance markets. Weather events are becoming increasingly extreme, events that did not happen fifty years ago are expected to reoccur. The market is moving a lot to offer new alternatives in insurance and the subsidy is one of the biggest drivers of contracting", says Fabio Damasceno, executive director of agribusiness at Fairfax, Bayer's insurance partner in this project.

"Bayer always maintains a dialogue relationship with Brazilian farmers, in order to bring innovations that make the most sense for the producer, so that our partnership continues to progress", says Thiago Junqueira, director of customer experience at Bayer. "Agricultural insurance was a demand that we heard a lot from our customers and now, through Impulso Bayer and connected to strategic partners, we want to help them have more predictability for their businesses, something so important at this time of so many transformations."

Currently, farmers can purchase 27 different insurance products on the platform, for crops such as soybeans, corn, wheat, sugar cane, fruits and vegetables. In the long term, the expectation is to further expand coverage across the country against factors such as excessive rain, waterspouts, frost, hail, strong winds or cold, fire and drought, in addition to the need for replanting resulting from adverse weather conditions.