Insurance Company Extends Tobacco-Growing Insurance Policy

05/27/2004

A Chinese insurance company has recently instituted a policy to provide insurance for tobacco growing in southwest China's Sichuan Province, with the approval of China Insurance Regulatory Commission. The insurance policy, extended by the Sichuan Provincial Branch of the People's Insurance Company of China, is mainly intended to insure the effective leaves on tobacco crops against direct damage. Besides traditional items of damage from hails, storms, floods and other natural disasters, the insurance policy also covers damage from landslides. The duration of the insurance policy starts from the time of survival of tobacco seedlings in fields following transplantation, and ends upon the completion of collection of effective leaves from tobacco crops as stipulated by the insurance contract. According to leaders of the Sichuan Provincial Branch of the People's Insurance Company of China, the tobacco-growing insurance policy is actually part of a package of insurance policies for agricultural production operated on a trial basis in Sichuan Province. As tobacco production is a pillar in the agricultural economy of Sichuan, the institution of the tobacco-growing insurance policy is expected to contributing to arouse the enthusiasm of local farmers for growing tobacco. Enditem