PREAMBLE

• The “Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme – WBCIS”(hereinafter referred to as the ‘Scheme’), intended to provide insurance protection to the cultivator against adverse weather incidence, such as deficit & excess rainfall, frost, heat (temperature), relative humidity, etc., which are deemed to adversely impact the crop during its cultivation period.

• The Scheme shall run as a Pilot in selected areas, in selected States, for selected crops.
  

SEASONS

Insurance coverage under the Scheme would be provided in two separate seasons as below:

If the cultivation period of a crop does not strictly fall within the above season span or crosses over to the next season, in such cases, the sowing period of the crop shall determine the season in which it has to be categorized.

AREA APPROACH

The Scheme shall operate on the principle of “Area Approach” in selected notified Reference Unit Areas. Area Approach signifies that a “Reference Unit Area” shall be considered as a Unit-Area of Insurance for the purpose of acceptance of risk and assessment of compensation as well. Therefore, all insured-cultivators of a Notified Crop in the notified Reference Unit Area shall be deemed to be on par so far as their terms of insurance coverage and assessment of compensation are concerned. 

GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE

• “Reference Unit Areas” are linked to specific Reference Weather Stations.

• “Reference Weather Stations” are those which are commissioned for providing “Weather Data” for the purpose of assessment of compensation.

• “Reference Unit-Area” is a geographical area around a Reference Weather Station, pre-notified by the State Level Coordination Committee on Crop Insurance i.e., SLCCCI, which is deemed to be reflective of the Reference Weather Station’s Weather Data. To the extent practicable, such Reference Unit-Area shall be restricted to 25 km. radius around the Reference Weather Station in case of Rainfall and Wind parameters, and 100 km. radius in case of other weather parameters like Temperature, Relative humidity, Solar radiation, etc.

Any addition/deletion of States may be considered by the Government of India/ Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd. (AIC), based on the willingness and the level of preparedness of the concerned State Government.

CROPS COVERED
The following crops are eligible for coverage at present:

• All the cultivators (including sharecroppers and tenant cultivators) growing any Notified Crop in any Reference Unit Area shall be eligible for coverage. The Scheme shall be:

• Compulsorily insure all Loanee Applicant Cultivators who have been sanctioned credit limits by them for any Notified Crop in any notified Reference Unit Area.
  
  
• Accept Insurance Proposals from all Non-Loanee Cultivators desiring to avail insurance under the Scheme whose proposed field falls within the service area of the FI.
  
  
• Financial Institution, for the purpose of the Scheme, includes all District Central Cooperative Banks and also the PACS affiliated to them, all Commercial Banks and all Regional Rural Banks, as defined in National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS).

The specific “Adverse Weather Incidence” with its timing / duration applicable to a particular Notified Crop shall be notified by the SLCCCI. The perils listed above are only indicative & not exhaustive; any addition/ deletion may be considered by AIC, based on the availability of relevant data. For the purpose of this Scheme, “Adverse Weather Incidence” would be as defined hereinafter.

RISK PERIOD (i.e. INSURANCE PERIOD)

Risk period would be from “Sowing Period” to “Maturity” of the crop. Risk period, depending on the duration of the crop and the weather parameters chosen, could vary with individual crop and Reference Unit Area, and would be notified by the SLCCCI before the commencement of risk period.

SEASONALITY DISCIPLINE

• Seasonality Discipline could vary from State to State as recommended by AIC and adopted by SLCCCI. The broad cut-off dates are indicated below:

• Insurance coverage of Loanee Applicant Cultivators shall be through the existing network of Financial Institutions [FI] at the grass-root level, using Nodal Bank system as in National Agricultural Insurance Scheme [NAIS].
  
  
• Insurance coverage of Non-Loanee Cultivators shall be through the existing network of FIs at the grass-root level; the Insurance Intermediaries and Authorized Representatives of AIC.
  
  
• Nodal Bank Branches shall be paid by AIC, a Service Charge of 5% on the actual Premium amount remitted by them, being in the nature of sharing the incidental management expenses incurred by them for servicing the Scheme.
  
  
• Detailed coverage procedure is laid down in the Operational Modalities of the Scheme.

• Sum Insured is broadly equivalent to the ‘cost of cultivation’ and is pre-declared by AIC and notified in the Notification. The Sum Insured for an individual cultivator shall be the product of the cultivator’s declared ‘area under cultivation’ (in hectare) for that Notified Crop and the Sum Insured per hectare as mentioned in the Notification. ‘Area under cultivation’ would always be expressed in terms of ‘hectare’ and not in acre or in any other unit.

COMPENSATION (PAYOUT)

(I) AIC shall be responsible for all Payouts arising out of “Adverse Weather Incidence”. However, this responsibility of AIC shall attach only when the ‘Risk has incepted’; that is, AIC has duly received the FULL PREMIUM, directly from the Insured his own part, AND ALSO the corresponding Premium Subsidy part from the Governments.

(II) Pay-out shall arise ONLY in case of Adverse Weather Incidence.  Adverse Weather Incidence is equivalent to the deviation between “Trigger Weather” and “Actual Weather” Data recorded at a “Reference Weather Station” during the specified time-period. Trigger Weather is a pre-defined Weather Parameter applicable to a Notified Crop in a notified Reference Unit Area. In case of Adverse Weather Incidence (AWI), all the insured cultivators growing the Notified Crop in the Reference Unit Area shall be deemed to have suffered the same level of AWI and the same proportion of crop-loss, and become eligible for the same rate of Payouts.

(III) Pay-out Computation - Payout computation would be based on the following parameters:

• TRIGGER WEATHER:  Trigger Weather is pre-defined and notified w.r.t. a particular weather parameter, Reference Unit Area and Notified Crop and has been fixed keeping in mind the broad moisture/ water or other weather parameter requirement of a particular crop.

• REFERENCE WEATHER STATION: It refers to an Automatic Weather Station or other designated Weather Station operating for a particular Reference Unit Area for generating the Weather Data during the current season based on which Payouts are processed.

• BACK-UP WEATHER STATION: It is a substitute Weather Station to be used only in case the weather data from Reference Weather Station for the current season is unavailable for any reason. Names of both Reference and Back-up Weather Station shall be notified by the SLCCCI.

• HISTORICAL WEATHER DATA [HWD]: Trigger Weather and Actuarial Premium Rates are generated on the basis of Historical Weather Data of 25 years or more, for a particular Reference Unit Area. In case, HWD for the full requisite period is not available, then, based on international standards, HWD may also be simulated for longer duration by AIC.

• ACTUAL WEATHER DATA [AWD]: Is the source for measuring/ recording the Actual Weather during the current season in a particular Reference Unit Area obtained from a pre-declared Reference Weather Station which shall be valid and binding for assessment of payouts.

• PAY-OUT STRUCTURE: Payout structure is a pre-defined Benefit Table, specific to a particular Notified Crop in a notified Reference Unit Area. Pay-out structure defines the Trigger Weather, the Scale of payout for a given Trigger Weather and EXIT at which full Pay-out happens. Pay-out structures may also incorporate benefit table for each “Crop stage” (an illustration is appended).

• Pay-outs would normally be made by AIC to the Nodal Banks within 45 days of closing of insurance period subject to receipt of the necessary actual weather data.

• So far as the Insured is concerned, the Pay-out procedure shall be automatic; that is to say, Payouts would be automatically computed by AIC on the basis of Actual Weather Data received, and the Pay-out would be automatically credited to the Insured’s Bank Account.

• Franchise of 5% would be applied while processing the Payouts – which means, any actual Payout which is less than 5% of the Sum Insured shall not be paid-out. The franchise clause is factored-in while calculating the Actuarial Premium.

• The Operational Modalities are the guidelines for administering the Scheme, and shall hold joint validity with the Scheme. The Operational Modalities may be amended as and when deemed fit.

• The Scheme shall be administered by AIC whose responsibilities are subject to the discharge of the roles and responsibilities of the other Agencies/ Institutions/ Govt. Departments/ Committees as laid down in the Scheme Document and its Operational Modalities.

• The Scheme is NOT a Yield-Guarantee Scheme, and is based on “Area Approach”, as opposed to “Individual Approach” – whereby assessment of compensation would be made on Reference Unit Area Basis and not on the basis of every individual insured who might have suffered a loss.

• The Scheme shall be null and void and no benefit shall be payable in the event of untrue or incorrect statements, misrepresentation or on non-disclosure in any material fact in the proposal form / personal statement / declaration and connected documents, or any material information having been concealed, or a claim being fraudulent or any fraudulent means or devices being used by the Insured or any one acting on his behalf to obtain any benefit under this Scheme.

DEFICIT RAINFALL: Triggers have been fixed keeping in mind the moisture/water requirement of a particular Crop to produce a Normal Yield. For Groundnut, the 4 key Crop- stages identified are: (i) Sowing & Germination; (ii) Vegetative phase; (iii) Flowering & Pegging; & (iv) Pod formation & Maturity. Sum Insured for Deficit Rainfall (i.e. the Maximum Pay-out) has been distributed over the 4 key Crop-stages keeping in mind the relative importance of each stage. The Table below shows the Crop-stage and corresponding Calendar period, Weather-Trigger (i.e. the minimum amount of Rainfall below which Pay-out starts), Exit (Rainfall at which full Pay-out is given), Pay-out for each mm. of rainfall below the Trigger and the maximum Pay-out for each Crop-stage:

Deficit Rainfall:

• The Pay-out under “Vegetative phase” is the average of the 2 fortnights between 1st July and 31st July.
• Similarly, the Pay-out under “Flowering & Pod formation” phase is the average of the 2 fortnights between 1st to 31st August.
• The Maximum Pay-out under “Deficit Rainfall” is Rs. 11000 per hectare.

EXCESS RAINFALL: An excess rainfall event takes into account the occurrence of rainfall magnitude that can be considered detrimental for the crop during a particular Crop-stage. The insurance considers two-day rainfall during the key crop growth stages. For Groundnut, the 2 key Crop- stages identified w.r.t. excess rainfall is: (i) Flowering & Pegging and (ii) Pod Formation & Maturity. Triggers (2-day excess rainfall) have been fixed separately for each of the 2 Crop-stages. These are 200 mm & 150 mm for the “Flowering & Pegging” and “Pod Formation & Maturity” respectively. For any given event of “2-day” excess rainfall, the Maximum Pay-out is capped at Rs. 1000. Maximum Pay-out under excess rainfall is fixed at Rs. 4000 per acre.

The details of Pay-out are given in the table below:

Excess Rainfall:

TOTAL SUM INSURED – RS. 15000 PER HECTARE
PREMIUM RATE – 12.22%
TOTAL PREMIUM – RS. 1833  PER HECTARE