Auswirkungen der gentechnischen veränderung von pflanzen auf die ernteversicherung

This paper analyses possible impacts of the genetic modification of plants on crop insurance schemes. Since their first commercial cultivation in 1994, transgenic plants have spread rapidly outside Europe and gained significant economic importance in agribusiness. Transgenic plants have already become very important to crop insurance as in the USA and Canada, the countries with the highest premium volume in crop insurance, they already account for a significant proportion of important arable crops such as soybeans, maize, oilseed rape and cotton. From an insurer's point of view, transgenic plants can in general be insured like conventional plants as yield level and yield variability under the risks induced by biotic and abiotic hazards are comparable to those of conventional plants. In a few cases, however, a different loss potential with regard to natural hazards was reported and might have been directly induced by genetic modification or secondary effects of this technology. In that case, the insurer can exclude this cause of loss from the insurance coverage or consider a premium loading for transgenic plants. This is necessary because such risks do not exist for conventional plants and are therefore not included in the premium calculation. Under applicable product liability laws, the insurer also has a right to take recourse against seed companies for losses paid if it can be proven that the genetic modification had been the cause for these losses. In case of minor transgenic plant losses, raising the deductible would also be an option. For some transgenic plants it is also to be taken into account that insurance sums can vary as a result of different prices and yields. A special case is the so-called revenue insurance where stock market fluctuations influenced by transgenic plants can result in higher loss payments. But latest research results suggest that a further reduction of losses and an increase in yields can be expected for future transgenic plants with tolerances towards biotic and abiotic hazards. The market is expected to demand reduced premium rates for such transgenic plants as they will result in reduced loss payments. Crop insurers should continue to follow the latest scientific developments in transgenic plants and establish separate loss tables for transgenic and conventional plants with the help of pilot projects. These loss tables would enable the insurer to objectively evaluate whether transgenic plants will reduce or increase production risks and take this into account when calculating the insurance premium. As a whole, it can be said that the active monitoring of research results with regard to the cultivation of transgenic plants is currently the most important task of the insurer.