Wingsure looking to help farmers get credit for agriculture insurance premium payment

Wingsure Plans Credit Support for Premiums

AI-based crop insurance technology firm Wingsure, which originated from the Stanford Research Institute, intends to assist farmers in accessing credit from partner banks so that paying insurance premiums becomes easier. Its founder and CEO, Avi Basu, said the company is exploring combined capabilities because premium payment remains a persistent problem. Wingsure has so far covered more than half a million farmers and offers cover for 18 crops on its platform.

Basu noted that insurance penetration in India is low, with fewer than 30 per cent of farmers covered, while roughly 150 million farmers still need coverage. The company, a deep tech firm with operations in the US and India, has worked on crop insurance and crop assessment across several States. It began its India work with the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and crop insurance, and one of its earliest projects involved the Coffee Board of India and the Coorg (Kodagu) Association, sponsored in partnership with WhatsApp.

Why This Matters for Insurers

Basu described PMFBY as an ambitious programme that seeks to protect farmers at enormous scale, but pointed to tension between the economics of underwriting and aggressively low premium rates. Bihar and West Bengal have rejoined the scheme, and about 40 million farmers now have cover. India ranks fourth globally in agricultural insurance premiums, behind the US, Canada and China, and could be second in coverage. However, premiums are falling because of lower bids in tenders, shaped by competitive pricing and State participation.

For insurers, reinsurers and agri-tech vendors, this pricing pressure affects product viability. Basu suggested that improved risk intelligence, ground-level data, faster distribution and quicker claims management can support better products. He also said El Nino is expected to increase claims, and that government systems such as YES-TECH and WINDS will enable information management before th…