Spanish agricultural insurance system breaks all records in 2023: more than in 2020 1,000 million premium (+16%), 16,918 million euros in insured capital (+3%) and six million hectares, 36.9 million tons of crops and 416 million animals are covered by the policies. The increase in hiring is a reflection of the employment needs of farmers. protected against the climate crisisAlong with hailstorms, wind and rain, frosts are a chain reaction of droughts and heat waves that damage crops.
The Spanish Group of Combined Agricultural Insurance Underwriters (Agroseguro) had already advanced this a few days ago. And now, due to the fact that claims in the last weeks of the year were not “closed and evaluated”, it is estimated that “compensations will exceed 1,200 million euros in 2023”; This is almost 50% more than in 2022, when it reached 800 million, and is a record number.
Sergio de Andrés Osorio, managing director of Agroseguro, assured: “I have never seen such a figure”Both in premiums and insured capital. “We have been breaking records for nine years, which shows that farmers and ranchers are increasingly protecting their products against climate events, against this climate reality,” he told Efeagro. By production, hiring increased in major productions in 2023: vegetables (+12%), fruit trees (+9%), citrus (+3%), wine grapes (+3%) or whole livestock insurance (+6%). And as the general manager emphasized, an important situation is this: olive grove“Always having fewer applications, this year its premium has increased by close to 50%,” De Andrés said.
drought It is responsible for the largest group of claims and will include: More than 470 million euros as compensation, especially in herbaceous crops (416 million), but also in wine grapes (29.9 million), olive groves (12) and vegetables (9.1). However, there were also significant impacts due to hailstorm, frost and fire.
The agriculture and livestock sector has been aware of climate change, which directly affects its production, for some time. “To call alternative products It is not fast, but we have already started the adaptation process,” emphasized Joan Caball, president of the agricultural union Unió de Pagesos (UP), at the presentation a few weeks ago of some figures on the impact of drought on the Catalan countryside.
“Rural Spain will be more insured than ever in 2024 In the same interview with Efeagro, Agroseguro general manager noted the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the State Agricultural Insurance Corporation (Enesa), regional administrations, the Insurance Compensation Consortium, and added “in the history of”. and insurance companies together with Agroseguro. De Andrés believes that by 2024, “climate events will provide a small respite, thus system is recoverable The high accident rate in 2023 is slightly remain solvent We work on a technical level to protect farmers and ranchers.