After the storm comes the reconstruction work…and the paperwork. Everyone thinks nothing will ever happen to them, but misfortunes happenand these include neither political color nor place of birth, and in a context of climate crisis, where extreme events are more frequent, this is economically clear.
Abel Tarín, a farmer from Godelleta, saw his plantation disappear, at ground zero of the DANA. The flood stole part of his land which was next to one of the ravines. Tarín explains that the rains have literally washed away part of his land: “Now they will be in Albufera.”
Tarín has not yet been able to fully assess the damage, since there are parts that he has not even been able to access, although he says that Agroseguros and the Insurance Compensation Consortium will cover this time, for the moment they are not. “we don’t have any paper on the table“.
The farmer really believes, or hopes, that they will help him, but he complains They’ve been in the mud for 20 days and they still don’t know exactly what’s going to happen and the countryside, Tarín compares, is not like a factory that can be closed and reopened in a month: “Need work all year round“.
The government signed a memorandum with insurance companies where committed to streamlining processes so that those affected can receive compensation as quickly as possible. But this on the ground falls on wet water.
Land in Godelleta submerged by flooding
Agroseguros, the Spanish rural insurance group, said that this It was the worst stormand more damaging, which insurance companies must face. According to their provisional estimates, as much remains to be calculated, they estimate that there has been 50,000 plots concerned.
This year they cover it all
Laura Palacios, insurance manager of the professional association La Unió of the Valencian Community, says that they met with the Minister of Agriculture and Agroinsurance and told him “quite calm“.
In case of natural disasterlike this DANA out of control, is the Insurance Compensation Consortium (CSS) the one who takes charge. This group receives funds from a small percentage of each policy to respond to these types of circumstances and reports to the Ministry of Economy.
Despite everything, the technical, human and economic effort that will have to be made is enormous, particularly due to the avalanche of requests at the same time as will produce a bottleneck. 400 people usually work at the CCS, and insurance companies will provide 3,000 additional workers to help process cases. The consortium estimates that the total cost could amount to 3.5 billion euros.
Bad weather
What all farmers know is that no matter how much effort they put into their production, the harvest ends up being sold to the producer. arbitrary bad weatherand this in a context of climate crisis and extreme weather events, it’s Russian roulette.
Hence insurance, which exists of all kinds and which is compulsory for farmers. These policies cover production and are based on returns assigned which are calculated from previous years. They also provide necessary infrastructure, such as greenhouses, fences, roads and drippers.
Experts are starting to count the damage to agricultural infrastructure.
In the case of DANA, the CSS should cover all expenses, even if farmers have not yet received a cent. Palacios says that agricultural insurance is fully funded at the state and regional level and cover losses, but cautions that it remains to be seen what happens next year with the increase in policies.
“We are asking administrations to subsidize these surcharges, because these are not subsidized“said Palacios because otherwise it will be like a double payment for Valencian farmers: “First for the accident and the lost product, and then for the premium they will charge later.”
Palacios is talking about this specific cold spell, but state and insurance liability is something farmers have been calling for for years.
Change of dates
Just like this year, after the rain, it looks like drought won’t cause as much concern, two years ago had one of the driest summers in memory, and temperatures could drop due to frost in others. The weather is unpredictable.
This is why the agricultural union COAG is calling for more investment in the primary sector. According to Pedro García, a state official, The state should invest at least twice as much.
Dana devastated citrus crops.
According to him, they are condemned to time, without taking into account the fact that they are the ones who feed the cities. In fact, according to García, many colleagues in the field see themselves forced to bear losses and in the end they end up leaving the sector. Maybe because of these conditions generational change is not found.
Although insurance covers losses, one of the most common claims in this area is that more and more the seasons are less predictableit rains when it should snow, and it hails when it should be sunny.
That the weather changes is normal, they have always adapted to the cycles. Negotiations between policyholders and insurers are based on events from the previous yearand it is precisely the days outside of these parameters that are at risk. This is why farmers and breeders seek maximum security.
In this episode of cold fall, faced with the scale of the disaster, insurance companies, organizations and governments have joined forces, but the fear of many is that These extreme events will become increasingly common and unpredictable.and what insurance covers the least are uncertainties.
