Farmers in developing countries often rely heavily on their yearly harvest to feed their families. A bad crop can have severe consequences for their livelihood. Despite the significant advantages crop insurances would offer in alleviating this risk, only a small percentage of farmers insure their crops.
A simple but effective solution tested by researchers from the University of Zurich has increased insurance adoption to over 70 percent.
For decades, companies, aid organizations and governments in developing countries have tried to increase the numbers of farmers who insure their crops. However, farmers' adoption remains stubbornly low.
Lorenzo Casaburi from the Department of Economics at the UZH and his co-author Jack Willis identified a simple solution to increase the take up rates of these insurance.
They found that, when it comes to crop insurance, timings and what economists call time preferences are crucial.
In standard insurance products, premiums are paid at a time when farmers are cash strapped. In addition, as the potential benefit from the insurance, i.e. the payout in case of a bad harvest, lies in the future, its value is mentally discounted. This potential money in the future seems worth less than the price it would cost today. The farmer decides that it is therefore not worth the investment.
Timing of payment of insurance premiums is key. Usually, crop insurances have to be paid at the beginning of the season, just as the farmers need money for inputs, seeds, machinery and to feed their family until harvest, when they can sell their produce.
The researchers made a very simple change to the insurance policy: they shifted the payment date for the insurance to harvest time.
In case of a good harvest, the farmer received the price for his harvest from which the insurance premium was deducted. In case of a bad harvest, the farmer received a price for his harvest and an insurance payout.
The researchers tested this innovation though a randomized controlled trial. "By simply moving the payment date to harvest time, we increased the pick-up rate for the insurance from 5% to 72%," says Lorenzo Casaburi and adds, "what's more, it was the poorest farmers that increased their demand the most."INSURANCE
