MODEL INSURANCE VILLAGE

Subject : Current Events

Context : IRDAI moots ‘Model Insurance Village’ concept to boost insurance in rural India

Concept :

The concept of setting up model insured villages was mooted by the IRDAI in a discussion paper on increasing penetration of insurance in rural areas with a special focus on agriculture and allied activities.
“The concept may be implemented in a minimum of 500 villages in different districts of the country in the first year and increased to a minimum of 1,000 villages in subsequent two years,” the paper said on which the insurance regulator has invited comments from stakeholders by May 17.
It also said the choice of villages is to be made carefully, considering various relevant aspects and parameters in order to implement the concept successfully for a period of three to five years.
Every general insurance and reinsurance company having office in India needs to be involved for piloting the concept, and the efforts in selected villages need to be continued for a minimum period of 3-5 years so as to make the insurance benefits visible to the community.
It said the central government’s initiative through PMFBY has helped improve the insurance protection for crops in recent years.
However, a large number of crops and cropped area are outside the scope of PFMBY and still remaining uninsured. These can be served through different tailored indemnity-based /weather index-based products.
The allied farm risks, MSMEs, agro businesses, livestock and other personal insurance needs of rural population are also largely unserved.