In this section we will examine another policy promoted by the COA in 2015 to assist farmers to minimize losses resulting from natural disasters: natural-disaster insurance for specified crops on the model of commercial insurance. Based on evaluation of various statistical data, including economic value and cultivated land area, the COA selected 10 crops for inclusion in the initial period of this insurance scheme. They are: top-grafting pears, mangoes, persimmons, Kyoho grapes, papaya, tankan oranges, wentan pomelo, custard apples, wax apples, and paddy rice.

　　We also requested that the Non-Life Insurance Association of the ROC inform all of its member companies of the news that the government is promoting natural-disaster crop insurance. The COA’s Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) has provided the Association with relevant information for each of the above 10 crops (including cultivated land area, geographic distribution, annual production value, number of households cultivating each crop, and records of government disaster relief provided over recent years). We hope that by providing insurance companies with comprehensive data on these agricultural industries, private firms will be increasingly willing to develop suitable insurance products.

　　In fact, there is already one such product on the market. Through assistance provided by the COA to domestic property insurance companies, these companies have developed an insurance product for top-grafting pears. This product passed review by the Insurance Bureau of the Financial Supervisory Commission on September 2 of 2015. Sales of this product formally began on November 1. This marks a new milestone in domestic crop insurance. Property insurance companies have developed two types of insurance product for top-grafting pears: one which fully covers actual losses, and another which is linked to government relief. We anticipate that commercial insurance will be able to help reduce losses suffered by farmers as a result of natural disasters.

　　To encourage farmers to take out natural-disaster crop insurance, on October 22 of 2015 the AFA announced regulations governing trial subsidies for such insurance. Under this system the COA will subsidize one-third of premiums for approved insurance products. In addition, with respect to top-grafting pears, because private insurance companies still lack qualified personnel to evaluate these insurance policies and calculate compensation for losses, the COA has produced an instructional handbook governing such matters and stipulating procedures for determining losses. We have also offered special training classes to help staff at commercial insurance firms to handle this line of business.

　　On November 12 of 2015 the COA announced that it had approved subsidies for three top-grafting pear insurance products offered by the Fubon property insurance company, and the following day, farmers from the Dongshi Farmers’ Association in Taichung became the first people to take out this type of insurance. In the future, the COA will continue to work with private insurance companies to develop more products covering agricultural facilities and important crops (such as mangoes and paddy rice), and to ensure that these insurance products conform to current conditions in agriculture and are acceptable to farmers. We will regularly re-assess trial methods and risk distribution, and we are also preparing future legislation specifically to govern agricultural insurance.