Magazine date:
Oct 2011 Insurers will decide in October if the farmers who have taken out a drought index-based livestock insurance will be entitled to compensations for the worst drought which hit the country in 60 years.
This coverage has been tested in Northern Kenya since 2010. Insurers use free data from satellites to determine the state of pastures. In case images reveal that they have dried up, farmers are compensated without verification of the actual loss of animals by insurers.
Nearly 2500 farmers have underwritten this insurance, protecting six to eight animals for a premium of 100 USD. Farmers who lost more than 15% of their livestock receive 180 USD per animal.