NANYUKI, Kenya, May 18 – UAP insurance company is now targeting dairy farmers by providing cover for their cattle.
The company has developed and is now rolling out a specialised insurance policy for the livestock farmers.
The new product, which is a response to a growing need for livestock farmers to instill a sense of sustainability for their businesses, will take care of losses arising from the death of cattle.
Speaking to customers from the Mount Kenya region in Nanyuki town, UAP Managing Director James Wambugu said that the company had developed the product in response to demand from customers and to help salvage the nascent dairy businesses especially in the increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.
“Agriculture remains the mainstay of our economy and we want to ensure that people involved in the business of farming whether crop or livestock have peace of mind,” he said pointing out that UAP had embraced livestock and crop insurance with an open mind about the risk levels involved. “With Kenya having gone through a particularly dry weather spell, it had become necessary to develop a livestock cover that fitted the dairy farmers’ circumstances.”
Mr Wambugu explained that the livestock cover was particularly timely as most financial institutions that offered farmers loans nowadays required that the animals they finance be insured.
Said Mr Wambugu: “We believe that this cover will contribute to the economic viability of dairy farming and even stabilise the cost of livestock financing. For example we have partnered with Technoserve and Imenti South Dairy Cooperative to insure each cow that members of this cooperative buy.”
“This means that we take away the risk that the farmer faces and in the event of the loss of the livestock through, for example, disease, the farmer will be compensated.”
“It also works in favour of the financial institutions that are financing the purchase of these livestock since with compensation arising from insurance cover, these farmers will be able to meet their financial obligations,” he added.
This, he said was to part of an overall intention to provide insurance solutions that are relevant to specific needs of the market. He also announced that the firm had identified other cooperative societies across the country where to roll out the product to farmers.
He added that the new tailor made product clearly demonstrated UAP’s innovative streak to venture into terrain hitherto considered risky by the insurance industry. UAP is the first company to insure political and terrorist losses.
