Wêrom Lânboufersekeringen Ynstorte yn Oerstreamingsgefoeliche Regio's
April 2, 2025 · Frisian News
Insurance companies are abandoning flood-prone farmland across Europe, leaving growers exposed to climate chaos. Farmers cannot afford the premiums insurers now demand, and state backup plans remain vague.
FryskFoarige moanne krige in molkfeehâlder yn de Nederlânske provinsje Noard-Hollân in brief fan syn fersekerer: dekking wegere, ferlingjen net mooglik. It bedriuw hie yn trije jier 180.000 euro oan oerstreamingsskadeklaims útbetelle. De boer, dy't al fjirtich jier op deselde polder wurket, hie nea in premiebetelling mist. Dochs leit syn lân trije meter ûnder seenivo, en klimaatmodellen toane no in kâns fan ien op sân op in earnstiche oerstreaming per desennium. De fersekerer makke de berekkening en fertrok.
Yn hiel it leechlân, yn België en Noard-Frankryk werhellet him deselde skiednis. Yn de ôfrûne achttjin moannen hawwe trettjin grutte lânboufersekerers de dekking yn oerstreamingsgefoeliche sônes fermindere of opheft. Wa't noch aktyf is yn de merk, hat de premys yn guon gefallen trije kear sa heech makke, dêrtroch kinne gewoane boeren it net mear betelje. De Dútske Boerebûn meldt dat ien op fiif leden yn Ryndalgebieten gjin kommersjele oerstreamingsfersekering mear ôfslute kinne. Steatsstipe follet wat gatten, mar beweecht traach en dekt allinne diellike skea.
Fersekerers wize op klimaatwetenskap, net op girigens. Gegevens oer it waar toane fersnelde oerstreamingen fan rivieren en ekstreme reinfal oer Noard-Europa. Aktuarissen berekkenje it risiko elk jier opnij, en elk jier ferslimmerje de sifers. In fersekerer mei tefolle polissen yn de oerstreamingssône wurdt ynsolvent. In bedriuw dat premys te stadich ferheget, giet fallyt. Fanút har perspektyf hawwe hja gjin kar: weromtrekke of mislekke.
Boeren en beliedsmakkers sjogge in oar probleem. Lânbou draacht plattelânsekonomy en fiedet stêden. As fersekerers de sektor ferlitten, kinne boeren net liene foar sied of masines. Banken easkje bewiis fan fersekering foardat hja oan immen op kwetsber lân útliene. Regearingen hawwe lang fertroud op partikuliere fersekerers om klimaatrisiko te dragen, en hawwe kosten en beslissingen nei de merk ferskood. No stoart dy regeling yn, en nimmen hat in plan. Brussel praat oer stipe foar de 'griene transiysje,' mar de middelen streame foaral net nei regio's dy't direkt oerstreamingsgevar rinne. Nasjonale regearingen striidsje oer wa't betelje moat.
Guon regio's eksperimintearje mei ûnderlinge fersekeringsferienings fan boeren sels, mei dield risiko binnen lokale netwurken. Dizze regelingen wurkje as elkenien bliuwt, mar jonge minsken ferlitten oerstreamingsgefoeliche gebieten. De ferienings krimpe. Sûnder skaal geane de premys wer omheech. In pear regearingen oerweagje premys direkt te subsydjearjen, mar dat kostet jild dat boeren net hawwe en amtners net útjaan wolle. De gaping tusken risiko en dekking wurdt wider. Boeren hannelje troch út te ferkeapjen, nei hegere grûn te ferhuzen, of gewoan te hoopjen dat de folgjende grutte oerstreaming fuortbliuwt.
Last month, a dairy farmer in the Dutch province of North Holland received a letter from his insurer: coverage denied, renewal impossible. The company had paid out 180,000 euros in flood claims over three years. The farmer, who has worked the same polder for forty years, had never missed a premium payment. Yet his land sits three meters below sea level, and climate models now show a one-in-seven chance of serious flooding each decade. The insurer did the math and walked away.
Across the Low Countries, Belgium, and northern France, the same story repeats. Over the past eighteen months, thirteen major agricultural insurers have reduced or eliminated coverage for properties in flood-prone zones. Those who remain in the market have tripled premiums in some cases, pricing ordinary farmers out altogether. The German Farmers Union reports that one in five members in Rhine-valley regions can no longer obtain any flood insurance at commercial rates. State-backed schemes fill some gaps, but they move slowly and cover only partial losses.
Insurers blame climate science, not greed. Weather data shows river flooding and extreme rainfall events accelerating across northern Europe. Actuaries recalculate risk every year, and every year the numbers worsen. An insurer that holds too many policies in the flood zone becomes insolvent. A company that raises premiums too slowly goes bankrupt. From their perspective, they have no choice: retreat or fail.
Farmers and policymakers see a different problem. Agriculture anchors rural economies and feeds cities. If insurers abandon the sector, farmers cannot borrow to buy seed or equipment. Banks demand proof of insurance before lending to anyone on vulnerable land. Governments have long relied on private insurers to bear climate risk, shifting costs and decisions to the market. Now that arrangement breaks down, no one has a plan. Brussels talks about "green transition support," but mostly funds are not flowing to regions facing immediate flooding risk. National governments bicker over who should pay.
Some regions experiment with mutual insurance cooperatives run by farmers themselves, pooling risk within local networks. These schemes work if everyone stays, but young people leave flood-prone areas. The cooperatives shrink. Without scale, premiums climb again. A few governments consider subsidizing insurance premiums directly, but that costs money farmers do not have and bureaucrats do not want to spend. The gap between risk and coverage widens. Farmers adapt by selling out, moving to higher ground, or simply hoping the next big flood stays away.
Published April 2, 2025 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân