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Insurance penetration in India is one of the lowest across the globe at 3.7%. These numbers are even more dire in the rural parts of the country. Insurance penetration and awareness amongst farmers has been a persistent problem. As a company working for farmers, at AgroStar, we have built an ecosystem that creates great opportunities for solving the problems of farmers at multiple levels. Our platform fosters opportunities for meaningful collaborations with anyone who has a product or service that has the potential to create an impact on the lives of farmers and rural India.
Coming back to the problem of lack of insurance awareness and penetration in rural India, at the start of the year, we got the opportunity to contribute our bit in this space. Together, in collaboration with Care Health Insurance, a specialized health insurer and GramCover, a tech-enabled insurance marketplace for rural India, a personal accident insurance programme called "Kisan Raksha Kavach" was launched on the AgroStar platform. Any farmer who purchases Agri inputs from AgroStar is eligible for a personal accident insurance cover of Rs. 2 lakh. This programme provides financial protection to farmers against the uncertainties of accidental death and disability resulting from an accident.
What followed post the launch was phenomenal. In the first month itself, we received more than 10,000 sign-ups for the programme. As of April 2022, more than 75,000 farmers are insured under this policy. How such meaningful collaborations can make a huge difference was proven within two months of the launch of this program. AgroStar farmer Mr Jayantilal Mobhiya, from Sankheda, Vadodara in Gujarat had unfortunately met with an accident on his motorcycle on his way back home one day. He had to undergo emergency surgery and the doctors had to remove three toes from his right foot. He suddenly found himself in a situation with many uncertainties about his immediate future and was staring at considerable medical expenses and a long road to recovery. Due to his accident, he was anyways going to be away from his farm for some time. This is when he remembered about the insurance policy that he had received from AgroStar’s platform.
Jayantilal reached out to AgroStar’s AgriDoctors - Heena Barot and Akash Vora and requested for assistance. The team facilitated the coordination with the insurance partner - Care Health. With all the necessary due diligence being carried out effectively, Jayantilal received a payout of Rs. 50,000 as a cover for the policy given by AgroStar. For Jayantilal as soon as he received the payout, he was overcome by emotions and got great relief in his toughest time this year.
With this impact we are very happy with the multiple avenues we get to optimize to make a difference in the lives of farmers and fulfil our mission of Helping Farmers Win, Jayantilalbhai’s feelings shared with us is the icing on the cake and give us great satisfaction:
"Who has time nowadays to follow up so much? Even families aren't bothered to care for their own kin nowadays. But AgroStar has been following up and enquiring with me regularly. It's not about the monetary help that I am grateful for, I’m grateful for AgroStar's support and care for me during my tough time. You are like Krishna and I am your Arjun. Thank you so much! May you find happiness in your life and God give you everything you wish for.”
With this story, we hope to see increased adoption of insurance in rural India and an increase in meaningful collaborations to create a greater impact on the lives of farmers across the country.