GOV’T OFFERS LIFE, HEALTH INSURANCE TO FARMERS, FISHERS
MINISTER of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green says the 220,000 registered farmers and 26,000 registered fishers will, as of March 1, 2021, have access to the newly implemented group health and life insurance plan under an Agricare programme with Sagicor Jamaica. It is the first of its kind, to date, the minister told Parliament.
Pointing out that farming and fishing are real professions and Jamaica’s backbone, Minister Green said it was unfortunate that those industries have been underserved for years, so much so that when faced with illness, medical expense or death, there is no provision to help alleviate the burden that falls on the country’s “food heroes” and their families.
“It is they, our food heroes, who toil daily to put food on our table and ensure that our economy continues to move forward even in the face of a pandemic. Despite the critical importance of farmers and fishers to every single member of our society, they have, for years, been excluded from our formalised financial sector.
“I heard these cries first-hand when I embarked on an islandwide tour in October 2020. A number of our farmers and fisher folk spoke about the lack of insurance facility and the inability to provide security for them and their families. My team and I made the call for our private sector to step up and partner with us to provide insurance coverage to our food producers,” he said.
“That call was answered by Sagicor. Under the Sagicor Agricare programme, farmers who are registered with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and fisher folk who are registered with the National Fisheries
Authority (NFA) will have access to a Group Major Medical Plan, a Full House Plan, a Critical Plan, a Personal Accident Plan, and a Group Life Insurance Plan.”
Surgery, hospitalisation and treatment for chronic diseases will be covered under the Group Major Medical Plan, while the Full House Plan ensures that farmers and fishers will have access to money that can be utilised to purchase certain primary-care benefits.
The Group Critical Illness Plan provides coverage on diagnosis of certain critical illnesses, and the Group Personal Accident Plan sees that the insured or their dependents have certain benefits in the event that they are involved in an accident.
The Group Life Insurance Plan provides coverage in the event that the insured dies.
Opposition spokesman on agriculture Lothan Cousins lauded both Sagicor and the ministry for the initiative.
“The team from Sagicor, we want to commend them for taking such a bold initiative. The role of the private sector in assisting us to grow the agriculture sector is very critical. And for the ministry to entertain this initiative, they should also be commended,” said Cousins.
Additionally, Green said there are premium packages of which farmers and fishers can avail themselves.
“For a monthly premium of $217, a farmer or fisher folk could have personal accident coverage of a million dollars. A Critical Illness Bundle has a coverage of $500,000 with a monthly premium of just $284.10. Or, for up to $969.95, you can get one million dollars coverage on a Group Life Insurance Plan,” Green said, noting that the plans were crafted so they can be affordable, whereas Sagicor will facilitate premium payment through either four equal quarterly payments, or twice per year.
Once the programme begins, there will be a three-month “open enrolment period”, during which interested parties can sign up without the requirement of medical evidence.
The minister, in lauding Sagicor, urged other private entities to get involved.
“It is Sagicor that has crafted these benefits and premium packages, which the Government of Jamaica, through the offices of RADA and NFA, will assist in the sensitisation and the enrolment. We believe that our 220,000 registered farmers and our 26,000 registered fisher folk provide tremendous scope for the design of creative facilities to deal with issues such as health and life insurance,” he said.
“Additionally, we do believe we have enough data out there to enable our private sector to develop an appropriately priced crop insurance scheme, and we believe that our private sector can provide low interest capital for the agriculture and fisheries sector,” added Green.
He said the plan secures the health and well-being of farmers and fishers, and is a significant step in the transformation of Jamaica’s agricultural and fisheries sector.