The Swiss insurer Hagel won the public tender to insure the crops of 2,750 Madeiran farmers who produce more than 22 thousand annual tonnes of Madeira banana. The award was made for approximately 669 thousand euros, below the base price of 713 thousand euros set by GESBA – Empresa de Gestão do Setor da Banana (Madeira Banana Sector Management Company). Hagel overcame the proposals from CA Seguros and broker Atlas MGA, having submitted the lowest bid, in a tender where price was the decisive criterion.
The overall contractual price corresponds to the product of multiplying the commercial rate of 3% on the insured capital, which reaches 22,307,462 euros, valid until August 31, 2027 to include the 2026 Campaign. Payment for this insurance will be supported by GESBA at approximately 200 thousand euros, with the remaining 469 thousand euros covered by the PEPAC program (Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan) 2023-2027.
After four failed tenders last year, the first tender this year promoted by GESBA finally managed to attract bidders and contract insurance. The Madeiran regional model establishes strict rules that make it very difficult to create alternative private producer organizations, so practically all banana farmers depend on GESBA to sell their product.
Filipe Charters, Hagel's responsible for Portugal, stated that the company's objective in Madeira goes beyond presenting a competitive rate, intending to assure Madeiran producers a technical, transparent, and quick-response loss adjustment service at the time climate accidents occur. Hagel, the Portuguese branch of the Swiss Mutual Hail Insurance Company, already has extensive experience in covering large agricultural areas on the mainland, namely in the industrial tomato sector and other high-scale crops.
