PCIC okays DA bid to hike indemnity for insured hogs
THE Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) has relaxed its insurance rules for hogs, now allowing the coverage of pigs ordered to be culled by the government, and raising indemnity to 100 percent of the insurance cover.
In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the PCIC Board of Directors approved its proposal to pay raisers’ losses resulting “from government-ordered culling or slaughter of insured hogs.”
The DA added that their proposal to “raise the payable amount up to 100 percent of the insurance cover or the total sum insured” was also approved by the PCIC Board of Directors last February 24.
Prior to the approval of the proposals, insured hogs could not be indemnified if their deaths were the result of government-ordered culling during epidemic outbreaks. Furthermore, indemnity payouts are only 60 percent of total sum insured (TSI).
“Bold policy actions are needed in periods of adversity like the hog industry is in now, and we thank the PCIC for this quick response that sends the message [that] the
DA and its family of agencies are here to help our stakeholders, particularly the hog industry, build resilience and sustainability,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.
The DA said the relaxation of insurance policies would “help encourage the raising of over 10 million heads of swine among commercial and backyard raisers.”
The DA added, “The stocks to be insured will be a mix of fatteners and breeders, including grandparent stock, among the former, and fatteners and breeders, among the latter.”
Meanwhile, backyard hog raisers, who currently receive free insurance if they are listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), would still benefit from the relaxed provisions on indemnity payment, according to the DA.
The PCIC Board has directed the state-run agricultural insurance firm to “increase the number of backyard hog raisers to be provided insurance coverage,” the DA also said.
The “enhanced insurance policy features for hogs will remain in place until such time that the industry shall have stabilized or a vaccine or other veterinary solutions will have been developed for ASF,” according to agriculture officials.
Dar earlier revealed that the DA is seeking the Cabinet’s approval for its P740million proposal to subsidize half of the insurance premium of commercial hog raisers to encourage them to partake in the government’s pig repopulation tack.
“This will now be the indemnification for the backyard and commercial raisers. We will only subsidize the commercial raisers, while backyard raisers do not have to pay a premium as long as they are registered in the RSBSA [Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture]. This will encourage commercial hog raisers to repopulate,” Dar had explained last Monday.
Based on Dar’s presentation, it would cost a total of P1.48 billion to insure 5 million pigs, comprising 1 million breeders and 4 million pigs.
Dar said the government will shoulder half of the total cost; the rest would be paid by the commercial raiser.
Insurance coverage for a fattener is up to P10,000 with a 2.25-percent premium payment, while breeders are insured for P14,500 at a 4-percent premium payment, according to Dar’s presentation.