TF to examine reasons for non-enrollment and dropout, as well as claims processing and payout systems
Analysis to cover enrollment rates by region, species and farm size, including small-scale operators
Field consultations planned for October ahead of reform package due by month's end
The government plans to overhaul its aquaculture disaster insurance regime as abnormal weather patterns, including high sea temperatures, increase the risk of damage to fish farms. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it will examine everything from the reasons farmers do not enroll or drop out of the program to how accidents are handled, losses assessed and payouts made, with a reform package to be finalized by the end of October.
The ministry said it will hold a launch meeting Monday at its Busan offices for a task force on reforming the aquaculture disaster insurance system, bringing together relevant agencies and experts to discuss improvements. Despite growing disaster risks from high sea temperatures and other extreme weather events, some fish farming households still remain outside the insurance program.
The ministry said the overhaul will begin by examining why enrollment rates are low — analyzing why some farmers never sign up and why existing policyholders maintain or cancel their coverage — and will review ways to improve the entire process from enrollment through compensation.
The TF will focus on five areas: enrollment, retention and dropout patterns, including the non-enrollment problem among small-scale fish farms; the relationship between disaster recovery funding and insurance compensation; product operations, accident handling, loss assessment and payout systems; recent high sea-temperature trends and risk detection and assessment frameworks; and the feasibility of introducing alternative insurance products.
The launch meeting will be chaired by Choi Hyeon-ho, director general for fisheries policy at the ministry. Participants will include officials and experts from the ministry, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, the Agriculture and Fishery Policy Insurance Finance Service, the National Institute of Fisheries Science, the Korea Maritime Institute, the Insurance Development Institute and Pukyong National University.
The ministry will cross-reference data on the aquaculture disaster support system, current insurance operations and local government farm management records to conduct a detailed analysis of enrollment rates by region, species and farm size. In October, it will gather field opinions from each region to identify the enrollment burdens farmers actually feel and the difficulties they encounter during the coverage and compensation process.
Based on those findings, the ministry plans to finalize a reform package by the end of October aimed at raising insurance enrollment rates and expanding support for fish farmers.
"Through this TF, we will look broadly not only at compensation for insured farms but also at the difficulties faced by those who have not enrolled or have stopped their coverage," Choi said. "We will reflect the views of people in the field and of experts to develop effective improvements so that more aquaculture farms can prepare for the inevitable changes in our climate environment."
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