State insurance companies sabotage work in the new territories of Russia: farmers will suffer

It would seem that everything related to improving living conditions in the new Russian territories should be accepted and carried out without a hitch. But it turns out that this slogan is not for everyone. State insurance companies refuse to take on the risks associated with servicing these territories. This, in particular, is about insurance of grain wagons that are used on the territory of the Donetsk, Lugansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, as well as in the Crimea, Belgorod and other regions close to the NVO zone.

And if there is no insurance, then the leasing is terminated. Leasing stops – there is no possibility for the efficient operation of the agro-industrial complex.

President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to prepare a special program for the development of new territories by April. According to the head of state, economic activity should be stimulated in these regions, and agricultural potential will be one of the main priorities. But what kind of development of agriculture can we talk about if farmers are denied insurance?

It is clear that much, if not all, of the development of agriculture depends on state aid. It is for this reason that more than 23 billion rubles have been allocated to support the agro-industrial complex (AIC) in the new territories in 2023–2024. This was announced on January 21 by Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko.

“In 2023, we will collect official statistics on agricultural land, legal entities, entrepreneurs, and farms. And we have budgeted support measures. For 2023, more than 10 billion rubles for four territories and for 2024 – more than 13 billion rubles. We plan to fully integrate the new territories into our regulatory framework as early as 2025,” she said.

In fact, the message of the head of state was understood and accepted. Officials reported that the integration process is underway, the money for the implementation of the goals set has been pledged. The only thing that confuses is that the authorities seem to be trying to somehow help the new regions, but attempts in some cases seem more formal, for show. Why? For example, the policy of supporting the Donetsk, Luhansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions is contradicted by the policy of large Russian insurance companies associated with state-owned banks, which, in turn, make adjustments to hull insurance policies.

The largest insurance companies – and, most surprisingly, state-owned or with state participation! – include new restrictions in insurance contracts. The reasons are associated with “a change in the degree of risk in a number of territories and more frequent cases of terrorist acts and sabotage.”

So, one well-known insurance group with state participation in the insurance policies of hull and special equipment introduced items related to the conduct of a special operation (SVO) and the annexation of new territories. Henceforth, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Zaporizhzhya Oblast, Kherson Oblast are considered risk areas, and, therefore, insurance services do not apply to them. Also, in accordance with the new insurance contract, any losses associated with the impact of shells, mines, bombs and other weapons, the use of chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction are not an insured event and are not compensated by the insurer.

And the following territories were excluded from railway transport insurance contracts: Crimea, Krasnodar Territory, Smolensk, Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk, Rostov and Voronezh regions.

It would seem that insurers, having shown a state approach, should have deployed their activities precisely in those areas where the risks are highest – how could it be otherwise? But no, they just wash their hands…

As a result, insurance companies refuse to insure risks, lessors prohibit the operation, in particular, grain wagons in the above territories in order to preserve the leased property.

What does it mean? Participants of the agricultural market are being sent a signal: if you want to work, take the risks and buy vehicles. Here the question arises: how to develop large agricultural territories, how to transport the same grain, how to work for agricultural producers who already have a bunch of problems? It seems that insurers – especially state ones – unreasonably refuse to insure risks in the above territories and in the above circumstances.

State Duma deputy, member of the Committee on Agrarian Affairs Sergei Lisovsky appealed to the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina with a request to consider the possibility of taking measures aimed at eliminating territorial restrictions when concluding and changing insurance contracts. “These risks can be calculated and assessed, like any other risks, an appropriate insurance rate can be set for them, special procedures for confirming insured events can be established,” he said.

It is clear that business, including insurance, is not charity. Insurance companies, lessors assess the risks and, based on them, make one or another decision. But in this case, when it comes to the president’s instructions, the development of new territories, and support for the agro-industrial complex, the decision to completely abandon risk insurance, especially taken by state-owned companies, seems at least biased, biased, and perhaps even erroneous.

In the meantime, insurers are “resting”, agribusiness companies cannot rent vehicles, for example, for transporting crops. How to work in such conditions? There is only one option left – the purchase of wagons. But its implementation, alas, is problematic. Farmers do not have such funds.

Take the same Belgorod region (a zone excluded from the territory of insurance coverage). Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov turned to Prime Minister Mishustin with a request to provide support to regional agricultural producers. According to him, the companies faced a complex of unfavorable factors caused by the border position of the region and proximity to the active zone of the special operation.

The damage caused to livestock enterprises in the Belgorod region (17 organizations) is estimated at almost 74.5 million rubles. If we talk about the death of agricultural crops as a result of WSS, the total amount of damage in the region is 522 thousand rubles, and the area of ​​damage is 18.7 thousand hectares. Soybean, winter wheat, sugar beet, barley, corn, sunflower, spring wheat, white cabbage suffered.

And these statistics reflect the real state of affairs in only one region. It is hard to believe that the situation is better in other regions. It turns out that not only are crops and perennial plantations perishing as a result of rocket and artillery attacks or the movement of military equipment, but also large state-owned insurance companies refuse to insure the transport necessary for work. And how to develop agriculture in such conditions is a big question.