The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has permitted the seven-month old Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) to settle a claim amount of Rs 2,000 crore to drought affected farmers in nine states.
The new company, which was promoted by General Insurance Corporation, Nabard and four public sector general insurance companies will settle crop insurance claims of about 50 lakh farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu as part of Kharif 2002 risk coverage under the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS).
The company has taken over implementation of NAIS from GIC with effect from March 31, 2003. Premium collected for Kharif 2002 was approximately Rs 325 crore.