They did not arrive in Brittany until 1 a.m. by car from the Netherlands: a damage adjuster from insurer Achmea together with three specialized appraisers. On Friday, but probably also on Saturday and Sunday, they will assess damage at greenhouse companies affected by storm Ciarán in the French province. “Our people would have liked to fly by plane, but they did not fly through the storm yet,” says Jaap Breugem, responsible for Achmea’s agricultural insurance, over the telephone about his colleagues’ operation.
The four Dutchmen, together with local insurance intermediaries, now visit customers of Hagelunie, a 100 percent subsidiary of Achmea that specializes in greenhouse horticulture companies.
What does Achmea do in France?
“We sell our general agricultural insurance mainly in the Netherlands. But for greenhouse horticulture, in addition to the Netherlands, we have seven European countries and Canada. The most important reason for this is to distribute the risks that the gardeners cannot bear themselves. Greenhouse horticulture is a very specific niche that involves a lot of money. By acquiring more customers, we spread the risks. As a result, the sector also remains attractive to reinsurers, who help us keep the sector insurable. And in this way you ultimately serve your Dutch customer.”
What do you do when you hear that a storm is coming?
“When it became clear that the storm would be exciting in France, we contacted the intermediaries. We will then discuss measures to prevent damage. Something that is very simple is to keep the greenhouses closed when a certain wind level is expected. Then you have the greatest chance that the least will happen. When there is less wind it can be a good idea to keep some cracks and ventilation windows open, but not now in Brittany. We have pushed such a prevention measure to intermediaries and the customers.
“What we have also emphasized is to prevent people from entering the greenhouse when things are going so fast. Entrepreneurs are often so driven to protect their business. If the first glass breaks, they go into the greenhouse to be quickly replaced. But you shouldn’t do that with such storms. People really come first.”
“But for the rest it was also hoping and praying. Let’s be honest about that: short-term prevention is still limited. Things really went wild in Brittany. Huge high waves, high wind speeds. The first damage reports soon came in.”
What are you people doing there now?
“To map out what is going on as clearly as possible. And specifically in greenhouse horticulture, this is: how can we save as much harvest as possible? That’s what the appraisers are there for. They specialize in crops grown in Brittany: mainly tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries.
“If glass has blown off, can we close a screen? Is it possible to install an emergency wall? If it only concerns a few windows, can we quickly arrange damage repairers – from the Netherlands or France – to bring glass?
“And what I know from practice is that our people are often also a kind of respite for the affected entrepreneurs. You see that sometimes people are really devastated, because their company has been hit hard at the core. We are not concerned with large numbers, as with the consumer market, are we? Almost all customers are known to us, we have actually always been to the company at least once. So that is also a personal relationship.”
“The fortunate thing is that it is now the end of the season in vegetable growing. So the companies that are empty and that have been destroyed by the wind, it is quite easy to assess the damage there. Then there is no immediate crop damage. But our appraisers will then check whether cultivation can start – which is planned for December 1, January 1 or February 1 – or whether this is possible or whether it should be postponed.”
The insurers see that the weather is becoming more extreme, more hail damage, more severe storms. Are you concerned about whether greenhouse horticulture can remain insurable?
“At Achmea, we have been selling agricultural insurance for 210 years, and it has always been sufficiently adaptive to date. Situations will arise in the world, for example in certain areas where outdoor crops can no longer really be covered by an insurer. Unless governments take their responsibility and step in.
“But if you look at the greenhouse horticulture sector, you see that it is always adapting. Building in the right places so that it can continue. Sufficient innovation. We are not very concerned about that.
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“I am the son of a horticultural entrepreneur, and I remember well that in 1990 my father’s company was under great pressure. The neighbor was blown over. Since then, a lot of work has been done, together with science, on the best way to build greenhouses. How much steel, extra steel at certain corners, determine how strong glass must be. That has been a kind of evolutionary process.
“We replace all the glass that we now replace with tempered glass. This is much more resistant to extreme weather situations, especially hail. But it can also be more busy when there is a storm. It is more expensive, but ultimately more sustainable.”
“But I am very happy with our strategy to be present in more countries than just the Netherlands. Here in the Netherlands we have no pain this time, the damage there was not too bad. Another time there will be a lot of damage here again. Because we have a broad customer base, we can absorb that.”