Allianz Africa recently held a webinar on The Digitization of Agriculture Insurance Through Parametric Solutions in partnership with Allianz Re. The webinar was held after the first digital session held in December on the topic of Vaccine Economics, Trade, China and Growth in Africa, with Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist at Allianz SE.
Currently, Allianz is preparing to expand its presence in East African, with the acquisition of the majority of shares in Jubilee General Insurance Company in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mauritius and Burundi. This event is the second of a series aiming at sharing with stakeholders pan African solutions that the Allianz Group can offer through its footprint in Africa.
Allianz Africa brought together agriculture and insurance experts including
- Dr. Reto Schneider – Regional Head of Agriculture at Allianz Re.
- Lovemore Forichi – Senior Underwriter of Agriculture at Allianz Re.
- Gregoire Tombez – CEO of WARM Consulting Group Ltd and Co-founder of Green Triangle.
- Erastus Ndege Ochieng – Asset Manager, Agriculture Underwriting at Africa Re.
- Omondi Kasidhi – Head of Sustainable Agriculture Sourcing of Diageo.
- Delphine Traore – COO of Allianz Africa.
“There is an ever increasing need to invest in agriculture, given the vital importance of agriculture as a food source, especially in view of the increase in global population. Allianz Africa aims to contribute towards closing the protection gap and position itself as a leading agriculture reinsurance provider on the continent,” said Delphine Traoré, to explain the interest of Allianz Africa for sustainability in the agricultural sector.
Additionally, climate risks have increased the need for investments to make agriculture more resilient, following the panel’s experts. They agreed that the development and commercialization of agriculture requires financial services that can support. To this end, agricultural insurance is strategically important for eradicating extreme poverty, boosting prosperity and protecting livelihoods.
In 2020, the insurance industry recorded a cumulative premium of approximately Ksh. 33 billion ($300 million) from agricultural insurance. The Southern and Eastern regions of Africa contributed more than 80% of the recorded premium.
During the webinar, parametrics solutions were presented as the direction for the future. They bring a number of advantages such as high accuracy with state-of-the art satellite information, hybrid products to address additional perils, increased efficiency through fully paperless processes, fast and automated payouts possible, high level of traceability, combination with loans and integration of the value chain.
Despite certain limitations, technology is closing the gap between indemnity and parametric crop insurance and allows to get the best of both worlds in a single product. This is according to Gregoire Tombez, CEO of WARM Consulting Group Ltd and Co-founder of GreenTriangle.
To have a reliable parametrics system for efficient solutions, the panel pushed for significant improvements through product suitability, affordability, value chain efficiency, distribution, information and training.