Agricultural insurance claims set a historical record in 2023: 1.241 billion euros
Agricultural insurance contracts grew 16% in 2023, surpassing one billion euros for the first time.
11/01/2024
Madrid hosts the meeting of the Loss Adjuster’s Committee of the International Association of Agricultural Production Insurers (AIAG)
23/02/2024- A historic high, surpassing 2022 by 56% (793 million), attributed to prolonged drought and frequent storm fronts.
- Drought in arable crops accounted for 476 million, marking the most significant event in history, doubling the impact of frosts in fruit trees from 2022.
- 3.5 million hectares, approximately 60% of the total insured area, sustained damage.
- Claims has remained exceptionally high throughout an extended period from 2017 to 2023.
In 2023, agricultural insurance claims rise to 1.241 billion euros, significantly exceeding the 2022 record of 793 million by a substantial margin (56%). This underscores the notably adverse climate trends over the past decade. Alongside 2012, marked by severe drought, the period from 2017 to 2023 is confirmed as the period with the highest claim rate in the 43-year history of agricultural insurance, yielding unprecedented compensation figures.
The historical maximum in 2023 is explained by the severity of the meteorological phenomena recorded during the year:
- Primarily, the prominent factor was drought, particularly pronounced in the first half of the year, significantly impacting the development of rainfed herbaceous crops (winter cereal, legumes, sunflower), rainfed vineyards and olive trees. Agroseguro has paid a total compensation of 496 million euros due to drought-related damage.
- The compensation paid because of strong storms loaded with hail, wind and rain, amount to a total of 375 million. These compensations are distributed among insured producers across nearly thirty productive sectors.
- The frosts in January and February affected citrus, fruit and vegetable production, and those recorded during the spring impacted vineyards and – again – fruit trees, resulting in a total cost of 61 million euros.
The damaged area, covering 3.5 million hectares, totalled almost 60% of the insured agricultural production areas in 2023.
These figures confirm the serious impact climate change has on the field and confirm the effectiveness of agricultural insurance as the best tool for protecting the viability of agricultural holdings. Furthermore, they validate the managerial proficiency of Agroseguro and the trust of farmers and livestock producers, evidenced by the increase of policies taken out for the 2024 crop season.
476 million in compensation for herbaceous producers.
The breakdown of compensation by production includes arable crops (476 million), wine grapes (105 million), fruit trees (105 million), citrus (92 million), and the category of vegetables (78 million). Similarly, insurance claims for the following have reached high figures: olive trees (36 million), garlic (30 million), khaki (30 million), nuts (17 million) and cherry (15 million). Lastly, for livestock, compensations reached 163.4 million.
