A Review of Business Process Improvement in Crop Insurance Agencies across Mazandaran Province

Document Type : Original Article

Author
PhD student in Business Administration, Faculty of Management, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran.
10.22034/jmek.2023.325767.1012
Abstract
Iran's location on the northern hemisphere's dry belt, limited water resources, agricultural market instability, and lack of job security have made farming a high-risk activity. The sector's heavy reliance on nature and exposure to natural disasters like floods further increase this risk. Given the government's limited capacity to compensate for damages, agricultural insurance is a crucial mechanism for ensuring investment security. This study aims to provide a suitable model for improving the business process of agricultural insurance agencies in Mazandaran province. The research method involves a library review of key concepts and literature regarding factors affecting insurance demand and adoption, farmer education, digital marketing, and insurance marketing models. Findings indicate that agricultural insurance sales in Mazandaran face both internal and external limitations, including high premium costs for farmers, delayed indemnity payments, mismatch between compensation and actual damages, weak insurance awareness and culture among farmers, budget constraints, lack of incentives and discounts, and insufficient use of IT and digital marketing. Accordingly, the study recommends holding educational courses, utilizing virtual networks and social media for awareness campaigns, training agents in IT and communications, facilitating premium payments, enabling non-in-person damage tracking via applications, ensuring timely indemnity payments, and establishing connections with the Ministry of Agriculture, village heads, and Islamic councils. Implementing these strategies can increase insurance demand, enhance farmer satisfaction, and contribute to the business development of the Agricultural Insurance Fund.
Keywords
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  • Receive Date 23 September 2023
  • Revise Date 03 November 2023
  • Accept Date 11 December 2023