VINEYARD INSURANCE AS A RISK MANAGEMENT TOOL – PERCEPTION SURVEY OF ISTRIAN WINEGROWERS

The focus of this paper is an analyses of vineyards insurance. Though effective technical ways of protecting against natural disasters do exist, nonetheless, insurance and compensation for damages is still one of the most important risk management instruments. In Croatia, the agricultural insurance market remains insufficiently developed. The number of signed contracts for agricultural insurance in recent years has increased due to the frequency and intensity of natural disasters (as a consequence of climate change). In addition, budgeted funds for compensation is still insufficient. The aim of this paper is to examine the development of the agricultural insurance market in Croatia and to examine the perceptions of winemakers as to the use of insurance as a risk management instrument in viticulture. Winegrowers’ perceptions of insurance as a risk management tool are analysed using a survey conducted in the region of Istria. The survey results are supplemented with interviews of selected insurance companies. The results show that vineyard insurance as a risk management instrument has not been sufficiently utilised. Furthermore, insurance companies assume that demand for agricultural insurance in Croatia exists, but such policies remain inadequate and disproportionate to the number and size of plantations.