Agriculture Insurance Company Of India(AIC) is a wholly-owned subsidy of the Government Of India. It was formed under the Companies Act 1956 and came into existence on the 20th December 2002.
AIC has the founding principles and aims to reduce risks associated with farming activities in India. AIC provides a plethora of insurance-based services and schemes for benefit of farmers across the country.
Some of the notable insurance schemes introduced by The AIC include Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana(PMFBY), National Agricultural Insurance Scheme(NAIS), Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme(WBCIS), Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS), Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme(MNAIS) among others.
We will be discussing the following topics with respect to AIC below:-
PMFBY has the objective to provide financial coverage to eligible farmers against natural disasters, drought, and insect infestation. Another key objective of the PMFBY is to open up avenues of credit to farmers. The scheme is propagated by the AIC along with partnerships with private companies like Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, Future Generali India Insurance Company, SBI General Insurance Company, among others.
Minimum Support Price (MSP) will be provided to affected farmers as a sum insured. If MSP is unavailable for the current year, last year’s MSP will prevail.
Premium rates range from 1.5% to 5% of sum insured or Actual rate (Lesser of the two). For instance, premiums for Kharif season crops are 2.0%. Premiums for Rabi season crops are 1.5%. Premiums for Annual crops are 5%.
Restructured WBCIS is a scheme that aims to mitigate the loss to farmers caused due to fluctuations in weather conditions. It aims to provide financial coverage to farmers in the event of unfavorable weather conditions. The goal of Restructured WBCIS is to provide stability to the farmer’s income even in unstable weather conditions.
The sum insured for crops shall be based on the cost of cultivation and the stage of the crop’s lifecycle.
Premium rate and structure is the same as under PMFBY
CPIS was introduced by the Department Of Agriculture (DAC) to minimize the risks faced by coconut farmers across all Indian States and Union Territories.
The following protections are provided to coconut palm farmers under CPIS
Major exclusions under CPIS include:-
The Bangla ShasyaBima scheme was launched in 2019 as the premier insurance scheme for farmers in West Bengal. The scheme’s aim is to provide insurance coverage and related benefits to farmers of West Bengal and make farm insurance accessible to even the poorest of farmers in the state. The BSB scheme is implemented by the Agriculture Insurance Company Of India.
All farmers including tenant farmers within the state are covered under BSB Scheme. Once a farmer decides to apply under BSB, he or she will be provided with a certificate of insurance, which he or she may use to handle claim requests among other things.
This scheme aims to protest West Bengal farmers against the risk of weather, failed sowing, excessive rainfall, and drought.
Along with the various schemes mentioned above, there are certain other additional insurance products offered by the AICIL, they are:
Claim forms can be downloaded here (https://www.aicofindia.com/AICEng/Pages/other-crop-ins-download-forms.aspx)
The majority stake of AICIL is under GIC (35%). Other stakes are under NABARD(30%), NIC (8.75%), Oriental Insurance (8.75), United India Insurance (8.75%), and New India Assurance (8.75%).
The AICIL registered head office is at Plate B&C, 5th Floor, Block 1, East Kidwai Nagar, New Delhi 110023, India.
Mr. Malay Kumar Poddar is currently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of AICIL. He joined AICIL in 2004, with a previous 18-year experience at GIC. Previous CMD’s of AICIL include Shri Rajeev Chaudhary, Mrs. Alamelu T. Lakshmanachari, Shri R. N. Dubey, Shri Alok Tandon among others. The first Chairman of AICIL was Shri Suparas Bhandari.
You may use the AIC branch locator to find out your closest AIC branch .