Crop insurer to pay farmers P344M in typhoon-related claims

The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), an agency of the Agriculture Department, will hasten the release of P334 million for Luzon farmers whose crops were damaged by Typhoons Pedring and Quiel last week. The amount is the biggest payout the agency has made to date, the insurer said in a statement Wednesday. In a report to Secretary Proceso Alcala, PCIC president Jovy C. Bernabe said the magnitude of the indemnity owes not only to the severity of the twin calamities, but also to the expansion of PCIC’s insurance coverage during the last 12 months. Bernabe said their adjusters in the private sector will be reactivated to help PCIC cope with the huge task of verifying crop insurance claims. Fast tracking the indemnity will enable rice and corn farmers to recover from their losses and re-plant again, Bernabe said. Bernabe said their preliminary assessment showed about P333.93-million worth of crops, mostly palay, were insured in 30 provinces in the entire Luzon. The affected farmers who were able to insure their crops were 26,794, with a combined farm area of 40,138 hectares. — VS, GMA News