Weather Index Insurance for Farmers in Southeast Asia

Sompo Holdings, Inc.

■Industry：Finance and insurance

Updated	July 8, 2022
Publication date	December 02, 2016
Sector	Industrial and economic activities, Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries

Group Overview

Sompo Group is engaged in a variety of businesses, such as Digital, Nursing Care & Seniors, and Domestic Life Insurance, as well as in core business of Domestic P&C Insurance and Overseas Insurance.

Climate Change Impacts

Southeast Asia has been susceptible to typhoons and droughts, and the frequency and magnitude of natural disasters are expected to increase due to climate change. Natural disasters are a critical threat to farmers as it lead to crop failures; especially in emerging countries with insufficient economic infrastructure, crop failures threaten the livelihoods of farmers and local economies.

Adaptation Initiatives

In Southeast Asia, Sompo Group has been providing a Weather Index Insurance aiming at reducing agricultural business management risks. Weather Index Insurance is an insurance product that pays out a contractually predetermined insurance amount when a weather index such as temperature, wind speed, and rainfall, fulfills certain conditions. Payments made according to the results of a predetermined index leads to quicker pay out compared to a conventional agricultural insurance.

In Thailand, we conducted research on risk financing methods to manage climate change in cooperation with several organizations including the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). In 2010, we launched a Weather Index Insurance for farmers in Northeast Thailand aiming at reducing their damages by drought. Insurance Payments are made when rainfall during a predetermined period is below a certain level. We developed a scheme with Bank for Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to provide the weather index insurance for farmers who maintain loan contracts with BAAC. By using technology provided through AgriSompo, an integrated platform launched by SOMPO International Holdings Ltd.(SIH), our overseas business subsidiary, we launched a weather index insurance for Longan farmers in February 2019, while in May 2021, for sugarcane and cassava farmers. We are developing and promoting insurance products as climate change adaptation measures for farmers of Thailand’s major agricultural exports. (Fig. 1)

In Myanmar, we developed a weather index insurance that covers drought risk for rice and sesame farmers in the central arid region. This insurance, developed in partnership with the Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC), makes use of rainfall data obtained by earth observation satellites. From December 2018　to January 2021, we provided a technology support for a pilot project for a Weather Index Insurance in Myanmar with Myanma Insurance and Myanma Agricultural Development Bank (MADB), which provides loans for farmers (Fig. 2).

Fig. 1 Approaches in Thailand

Fig. 2 Approaches in Myanmar

Effects / Expected Benefits

Figures and 3 BCtA marks

The purchase of Weather Index Insurance can mitigate agricultural business management risks in case of crop failures due to bad weather conditions because farmers can use the insurance payments as their income. The insurance is expected to reduce the economic vulnerabilities associated with the climate risks for farmers and local communities.

These weather index insurance in Southeast Asia has been recognized as meeting the requirements for membership in the Business Call to Action (BCtA), an initiative led by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) BCtA promotes a development of business models with the potential to achieve both commercial success and sustainable development outcomes. (Fig. 3). This was the first time as a Japanese financial institution and a P&C insurance company in the world received the certificate. In 2016, the company received Japan’s Environment Minister’s Award for demonstrating the Principles for Financial Action towards a Sustainable Society. For our initiative in Myanmar, we received the Minister of State for Space Policy Prize, at the Second Space Development and Utilization Grand Prize presentation.