First Assurance shifts focus to agriculture
What you need to know:
First Assurance Company Limited has announced that it will start offering insurance services to agriculture, starting with tobacco and cotton.
Dar es Salaam. Tobacco and cotton farmers in Tanzania will soon start insuring their crops, after First Assurance Company announced the introduction of agricultural plan.
The company said it was currently seeking an insurer they will work together. They will, however, start with a survey on various issues pertaining to the two crops before the plan comes into effect.
“Currently, our company is not offering this type of insurance because we are still pondering about the challenges facing the envisaged product,” said the company’s chief executive officer, Mr Bosco Bugali.
Report from National Bureau of Statistics report showed the crops contribute 15.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said the company decided to go for agricultural insurance since it has potential to provide value to low-income farmers and their communities by protecting them against farming risks.
Mr Bugali said they will start with tobacco and cotton because they are cultivated in large areas, which means its administration will be easy. In another development, the chief revealed that his company posted a 17 per cent growth of business last year.
“I believe that in the next five years, our company will be among the top 10 insurers, transacting general insurer business in the country,” he said.
During the launch of the company last year, the Tanzania Insurance Regulation Authority (Tira) Commissioner for Insurance, Dr Baghayo Saqware, called on the companies to venture into agri-insurance, as the sector has huge demands for insurance services.
Dr Saqware added that this will insure sustainable attainment of governments focus on industrialisation agenda.
