Hail insurance: premiums at risk in 2026

Context

In brief

• Grandine Svizzera forecasts a major financial loss in 2026
• Agricultural compensation of up to 170 million francs
• Sugar beets, potatoes and maize: yields up to 30% lower
• Premiums at risk of becoming unsustainable if losses increase

Key facts

• Person → Adrian Aebi
• Company → Grandine Svizzera
• Year → 2026
• Compensation → up to 170 million francs
• Affected crops → sugar beets, potatoes and maize
• Yield losses → up to 30%
• Coverage → arable, horticultural and floricultural crops
• Branches → France, Italy and Liechtenstein

In 2026 Grandine Svizzera will suffer a huge financial loss and will have to compensate the agricultural sector with an amount of up to 170 million francs. The alarm was raised by Adrian Aebi, director of the cooperative company, in an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

The cooperative offers insurance coverage for arable, horticultural and floricultural crops. A single unfavorable year can be absorbed by an insurer; the frequency of events, however, changes the financial picture.

«But if in the future such a damaging year were to occur every three years, the situation will become difficult».

The pressure on agricultural budgets

According to Aebi, crop losses will remain insurable in principle. If damage continues to increase, however, premiums may become so high that they are difficult for many companies to sustain.

The pressure is already visible in the costs of agricultural businesses. Farmers have to spend more on irrigation and additional labor, while yields are declining. In 2026, spring-sown crops, including sugar beets, potatoes and maize, in some cases recorded yield losses of up to 30%.

Aebi calls for higher prices for agricultural products and greater investment in adapting to climate change. The measures mentioned include more drought-resistant varieties, better-quality soils and more efficient irrigation systems.

Without these adjustments and higher revenues, many agricultural businesses would struggle to sustain rising costs and risks in the long term. Grandine Svizzera is one of Europe's leading insurance companies in agricultural multi-risk insurance and, through its branches, also insures crops in France, Italy and Liechtenstein. For a separate in-depth look at costo della vita in Svizzera, the topic can also be examined from the perspective of everyday expenses.

Operational details

The balance between risk and revenues

For the Swiss agricultural sector, the problem emerges when three pressures combine: higher irrigation expenses, additional labor and lower yields. Insurance coverage can absorb the damage, but if events become recurring, the premium enters the same income statement that must already finance adaptation and production. The source does not indicate an end to insurability: rather, it describes the risk of a coverage cost that is difficult to sustain.

Three scenarios for understanding the problem

The useful comparison is between the frequency of damage and the ability of farms to obtain sufficient revenues. The difference between an isolated year and a recurring sequence changes the weight of insurance protection and that of the necessary investments.

Aebi's request to obtain higher prices for agricultural products is directly connected to this balance. If costs and yield risks increase, revenues must match the effort required of farms. This is not a figure already set for agricultural products, but rather the direction indicated by the director of Grandine Svizzera.

Operationally, adaptation is not described as a single solution. Varieties more resistant to drought reduce crop exposure; higher-quality soils and more efficient irrigation systems complete the response indicated by Aebi. The expected result is to make the relationship between expenses, yields, premiums and revenues more sustainable.

For those viewing the issue from a personal budget perspective, it is advisable to keep the agricultural income statement separate from household income. calcolatore stipendio/imposte can help assess one's own margin, while the issue of agricultural premiums remains linked to conditions in the insurance and production sectors.

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Key points

From diagnosis to choices

Aebi's indicated response is not a single measure, but a set of adaptations and increased revenues. Decisions for a farm can be arranged in a concrete sequence, using only the levers indicated in the interview.

An operational sequence for farms

1. Separate the pressures already present: irrigation costs, expenditure on additional labor, and yield trends. These are the three signals that describe the economic burden on farms.

2. Assess the use of varieties more resistant to drought. Aebi lists them among the tools needed to adapt to climate change.

3. Examine soil quality and the efficiency of irrigation systems. The objective indicated by the source is to act on the factors that can make production more sustainable.

4. Also include insurance risk in planning. Crop losses remain insurable in principle, but the increase in damage may make premiums too high for many farms. Coverage must therefore be considered together with adaptation costs and expected revenues.

For insurers, the scenario to monitor is the recurrence of a very damaging year every three years. For farms, the parallel issue is to understand whether higher costs and yield risks can be sustained without higher revenues. The request for higher prices for agricultural products is part of the same economic response.

The source also indicates that, without adjustments and higher revenues, many farms would struggle to maintain rising costs and risks over the long term. To follow the issue from the perspective of the daily balance sheet, consult costo della vita in Svizzera.

Source: swissinfo.ch