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Taking on La Niña with weather insurance
An Aussie start-up is arming agribusinesses across the country with the financial tools to better manage weather risk.
After three consecutive La Niña events over 2020-2022, and a fourth now predicted, the wetter-than-usual conditions put weather insurance uppermost in the minds of agribusiness owners.
La Niña’s reemergence would mean increasing odds that Australia will face long periods of above average rain and cooler temperatures by the second half of 2024.
“I know what it’s like to have a great crop ruined by too much rain at harvest time,” says Dale Schilling, Founder and CEO of Hillridge, whose technology underpins real-time weather insurance tailored to agribusinesses, big or small, across Australia.
“If La Niña comes to pass, this will be the fourth one in five years. That’s only the second time that’s happened since 1900. It’s a big threat this year, particularly for east coast growers – but now, farmers can do something about that risk.”
Hillridge provides primary producers with the latest financial tools to better manage weather risk – be it too hot, too cold, too dry, or too wet. It’s an affordable data-led systematic approach that aims to mitigate risk in a way that’s both meaningful and valuable for farmers.
Instead of the traditional insurance model, which typically only covers fire or hail and sees farmers undergo a lengthy claims and damage assessment process, weather insurance offers an organised and automatic claims process that offers quick payouts in the case of a severe weather event, authenticated against weather bureau data.
As the first automated platform for weather insurance in Australia, farmers can now directly log in online to get quotes in real time, and purchase cover from our insurance partners.
Any agribusiness, including cropping, livestock, horticulture, or viticulture, can buy cover.
“Farming goes back many generations on both sides of my family,” says Dale.
“Every farming business is different, so it was important to me that farmers and their agronomists or advisors can easily use our system to come up with a solution that is right for them.”
Hillridge software analyses the risk profile of the individual farm and provides “pin drop pricing” in seconds. The offered is based on the likelihood of poor weather based on where and what you farm, not your claims history. Once you pay that premium, you’re covered.
The decision to pay a claim comes from a trusted weather data source, not the arbitrary judgement of an insurance assessor. If that weather event occurs your payout is fixed, fast and guaranteed.
Website: https://weatherrisk.hillridge.com.au/
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