"Less than 8% of farmers are insured today in Tunisia," said President of the Tunisian Federation of Insurance Companies (FTUSA) Hassène Feki said on Monday. Farmers are only insured against hail on crops, he told reporters on the sidelines of the 27th African Reinsurance Forum held from September 30 to October 4 in Tunis. He explained «unfortunately this type of insurance requires support from public authorities because, today, insurance against hail is not compulsory.» To encourage agricultural insurance, there are several mechanisms which could be developed including the creation of a fund which would be dedicated to natural disasters Feki pointed out, underlining also the importance of subsidy mechanisms. «Although there is a a public fund in Tunisia, it should be funded to meet farmers' needs,» he said, reiterating that there must be also mechanisms which cover the uninsured through contributions that are made, for instance, on each insurance contract or by imposing natural disaster insurance which makes it possible to cover the deprived. Regarding fires, Feki stressed that although fire insurance is compulsory for businesses and industry, only 20% of companies are insured against this risk. The FTUSA President pointed out that in Tunisia the share of life insurance on the insurance market is almost 25%. «This rate, which has evolved thanks to bank insurance, was around 10% a few years ago,» he said.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse