CHENNAI: has tied-up with startup for its retina recognition technology to identify cattle. The public-sector insurer said it hopes to bring down frauds and improve its loss ratios with the new . The move could also benefit farmers as India has more than 250 million farmers and double that number in livestock -but not even a fraction of them are considered bankable assets. With farmer suicides on the rise, there is a real need for better assess to capital and financial protection for their livestock assets. Insurers, other than the four public-sector undertakings shy away from insuring cattle, as the portfolio tends to bleed with claims ratio as high as 110%-120%. Other than what the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) mandates as social sector obligation, private insurers are reluctant to take on more on their books. The loss ratios in this segment are high because of extensive fraud -in many cases by non-farmers -as there has been no fool-proof method of identifying cattle so far. “Many atime, people have managed to get multiple loans from multiple banks by duping them with the same cow. With we are hoping to prevent fraud and help us in insuring genuine farmers,“ says Hitesh Joshi, GM, Co. “Other methods like ear tags that are currently used can be tampered with. There isn't anything to say with certainty that this was the cattle we insured, so we are now looking into ," he said. “With normal methods of identification there are chances of going wrong, but with retina recognition technology there is only one in a million chance you'd go wrong -making it a safe bet for the insurance company," says Tamaal Roy , CEO, Biomatiques. The firm has developed a Cattle UID, which is along the lines of how Indian citizens' eyes (iris) are scanned for issuing Aadhaar card and for biometric authentication on the UIDAI database. “Every cow can be given a unique ID that can be used by the farmers, government agencies, veterinarians and insurance companies. So there will be greater ease in maintaining records," says Joshi. “When it comes to fraud we've heard a lot of tall stories -people bring their neighbour's cow in and claim its theirs. People try to tamper with their ear tags. Some farmers even cut off the poor animal's ear to file for claims," says Joshi. Animal lovers can also take heart with the introduction of the new technology as it will eliminate the need for branding, hot irons, needles and pokes. Retina identification is non-invasive, and pain-free. With regard to the story “National Insurance Co receives biometrics help for cattle claims,“ published on July 15, 2016, the designation of Hitesh Joshi was erroneously mentioned as General Manager instead he is the Regional Manager, Gujarat, National Insurance Co.
India-based National Insurance has developed a biometric Cattle UID which public-sector insurer, Biomatiques Identifications Solutions, plans to use to reduce fraudulent claims. Normal methods such as ear tagging, which can be tampered with, means private insurers are reluctant to insure cattle, as fraud pushes the claims ratio as high as 120%. The new technology could also benefit India’s more than 250 million farmers who struggle to access capital and protection, as livestock is not considered a bankable asset.