News animal disease
Insurance against African swine fever?
In the United States (US), pig farmers are given the opportunity to insure themselves against the consequences of an outbreak of African swine fever. In the Netherlands, such insurance is still a long way off.
Insurance company James Allen Insurance launched insurance policies for African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease in early September. The insurer sees great importance in this, because an outbreak can cause considerable damage to the sector. Tim Craig, CEO of the American insurance company, says it is their job to protect farmers from the economic damage that would result.
The company considers the time appropriate to come up with such insurance, given that animal disease is currently taking hold China and Europe. No outbreak has yet been identified in the US. However, pig farmers are concerned that the virus will spread. James Allen Insurance is no stranger to American ranchers; they were also the first to offer coverage against the PED and PRRS virus outbreaks.
No question in the Netherlands
The disease is spreading in Europe from Poland on to Germany. An outbreak cannot be ruled out in the Netherlands either. Insurance against an animal disease such as African swine fever or foot-and-mouth disease is still a long way off, says Benjamin Overkleeft, advisor at LTO Verzekeringen. "It is difficult for insurers to offer cover, because the risk is difficult to estimate."
The question is whether Dutch livestock farmers are actually interested. In practice, he points out more demand for insurance against barn fires. Overkleeft points out that in the past pig farmers could insure themselves against animal diseases (such as Aujeszky and classical swine fever) via the Porcopol insurance. This was an initiative of Rabobank, Interpolis and LTO Nederland, among others. "Due to a lack of interest, this insurance was canceled in 2012."
In the years that the insurance against animal diseases existed, no damage was ever paid out. Overkleeft thinks that there may be a demand for insurance such as Porcopol in the future, although interest will probably only arise in the event of an outbreak.
Wouter Job
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