PartnerRe deal to address 'huge' potential of precision farming

Bermuda-based PartnerRe is teaming up with Farmers Edge to customise insurance products to target growth of precision farming.

Farmers Edge combines hardware, software, agronomy, and support to provide growers with the right data to inform farm management decisions that maximize productivity and profitability.

PartnerRe entered a four-year agreement with Farmers Edge to advance the $5 trillion global food and agriculture industry, according to a Feb. 12 press release.

Precision farming involves increasing efficiencies, producing more with fewer resources such as fertilizers, pesticides, seeds and water.

“We see a huge addressable market for precision farming,” said Rinat Bektleuov, head of agriculture at PartnerRe.

The deal is set to bring Farmers Edge decision agriculture platform to at least 20 million acres worldwide.

"Reaching 20 million acres worldwide within four years is our very modest target prediction," Bektleuov noted.

Under the terms of the agreement, PartnerRe and Farmers Edge will jointly develop new agriculture insurance products in main crop growing areas worldwide, aimed at addressing the specific needs and challenges of farmers.

For farmers, the insurance product with integrated precision-farming capabilities will improve the efficiency and sustainability of their operations, and will enable them to obtain insurance, which is customized to their individual needs and parameters. Insurers will also benefit from a more efficient loss adjustment process.

Technology will disrupt the agricultural industry in a positive way through the use of satellites, sensors and drones, and improve the performance in farming, Bektleuov explained.

But the higher productivity will not be supported by insurance products because the industry tends to look to the past to find actuarial confirmation, Bektleuov said. “This is creating a gap we want to close,” he added.

As the agricultural output increases through the application of the know-how gained from Farmers Edge, PartnerRe wants to enable the supply of tailored insurance protection.

“Our goal is to give primary insurers a broad choice of how to combine the advance technology with the various insurance product alternatives,” Bektleuov said.

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