Eureka! Institutional Repository

Insurance is a form of risk management used to hedge against a contingent loss. Agricultural insurance is a special line of property insurance applied to agricultural firms. The existence of an appropriate institutional framework pertaining to the insurance system in agriculture is considered to be an essential step as regards the course of competitiveness in Greek agriculture. This paper is based on an empirical study on a sample of farmers (n=200). The aim of this research study is to examine the farmers’ satisfaction with current structures and services related to agricultural insurance, as provided in Greece at present. On a second level, the objective of this paper is to develop a typology of farmers, based on their satisfaction structures (using a methodological scheme based on Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. The results of this typology will allow for conclusions and proposals to be reached, regarding the potential for improving agricultural insurance, with the growth of the agricultural sector as the ultimate objective. The PAF highlighted four factors-dimensions that can be used to analyse the farmers’ satisfaction with agricultural insurance. The first and most important factor is linked to the financial terms of insurance and the amount of insurance coverage. The second focuses on the human aspect of service, facilities and equipment. The third is linked to the terms of financing, and the fourth factor exclusively defines the particular properties of agricultural insurance.