Sep 16, 2013-The Lumbini General Insurance has insured ostriches at the Ostrich Nepal for as high as Rs 280 million. This is the first ever instance that birds (except poultry) have been insured.
The Lumbini General Insurance and the Ostrich Nepal signed an agreement to insure around 700 grown ostriches at the farm. In the first stage, the company has insured 700 ostriches at a rate of Rs 400,000 each, making the cumulative total stand at Rs 280 million.
In the first phase, the insurance will be accepted for a period of six months, which will be renewed after that, informed Shekhar Baral, the general manager of the insurance company.
Before this, the insurance of animals such as cow, goat, buffalo and chicken is not unusual in the country. The insured ostriches are being transferred to a new location in Dang. According to CP Sharma, the managing director of Ostrich Nepal, the company will have to pay an annual premium rate of Rs 7.33 million.
At the agreement signing ceremony, Jay Mukunda Khanal, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that the insurance has added a new chapter to the agriculture sector of the country. For surveillance of the insured ostriches, rubber tags have been attached to the respective ostriches. As an ostrich is considered high risk in the first three months of life, the company has only insured adults.
The Ostrich Nepal has been provided with credits from two banks. As per the agreement, the Kist Bank will provide Rs 220 million and the Civil Bank will offer Rs 100 million as landings, said Bal Narshing KC Gharti, chief executive of the Kist Bank and the Civil Bank CEO Kishore Maharjan. The ostrich farms, which were established some three years ago, now has an investment of Rs 700 million, Sharma said.
Published: 17-09-2013 09:31
