Crop Insurance Claims Are Going Digital, What Does It Mean for Farmers?

A damaged crop can leave a farmer facing two problems at once: losing the harvest and finding money for the next season. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is trying to make crop-loss assessment more technology-driven. New systems are being used alongside traditional crop-cutting experiments to estimate losses and settle claims.

The Union government has allocated ₹12,200 crore for PMFBY in 2026-27. Since the scheme began in Kharif 2016, more than 92.46 crore farmer applications have been insured and over 26.33 crore applications have received claims worth more than ₹2.06 lakh crore.

For Kharif 2026, 241.38 lakh farmers covering 278.12 lakh hectares had been insured as of August 27. In Kharif 2025, ₹9,837.61 crore in claims had already been paid to 60.89 lakh eligible farmers.

What Is Changing in Crop-Loss Assessment?

Traditionally, crop yields under PMFBY have been assessed through Crop Cutting Experiments conducted by state governments. The results are compared with threshold yields to determine claims under the area-based system.

Technology is now being added to this process. YES-TECH, or Yield Estimation System Based on Technology, uses remote sensing and other technology-based methods to estimate crop yields. It was introduced for paddy and wheat from Kharif 2023 and soybean from Kharif 2024.

YES-TECH was implemented in 12 states covering 344 districts during 2025-26. The technology-derived yield has a mandatory 30% weightage where the system applies. Some states have gone further. Madhya Pradesh used 100% technology-based yield in 2025-26, while Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh used 50%.

The idea is to reduce dependence on manual yield assessment alone. Technology can provide another source of evidence about crop conditions and yields across insured areas. The government says this can make assessment more objective and support faster and more transparent claim settlement.

WINDS, or the Weather Information Network and Data System, focuses on collecting weather information at a much more local level. It uses Automatic Weather Stations and Automatic Rain Gauges to generate weather data at block and gram panchayat levels.

As of July 2026, seven states and Union Territories had adopted WINDS. A total of 16,843 sites had been approved, with civil work completed at 1,188 sites and 892 weather stations or rain gauges installed.

This information can support crop insurance as well as weather forecasts, agricultural advisories and disaster management. Local weather data can be particularly useful when rainfall or other weather conditions vary sharply between nearby locations.

For farmers, the benefit is indirect. WINDS does not mean a farmer automatically receives compensation when a weather station records heavy rain. The data become part of a wider system used to assess weather risks and support insurance and other agricultural decisions.

What Should Farmers Do After Crop Damage?

Farmers should not assume that buying insurance automatically guarantees a claim for every type of crop damage. PMFBY covers notified crops and risks in notified areas. Coverage can include drought, floods, cyclones, hailstorms, pests, diseases, prevented sowing and specified post-harvest losses.

Localized losses such as hailstorm, landslide, inundation, cloudburst and natural fire are assessed at the individual insured farm level. Certain post-harvest losses caused by cyclones, unseasonal rain and hailstorms are also assessed individually under the scheme.

Farmers should report eligible crop losses through the prescribed channel within the required timeframe. They should keep insurance documents, land records, crop details and other relevant information available. The exact procedure can vary by state and the type of loss.

The government also operates the Krishi Rakshak Portal and Helpline at 14447 for crop-insurance-related assistance and grievances. Farmers can use the system to seek help and track complaints related to their insurance coverage.

PMFBY keeps the farmer’s premium contribution capped for notified crops. Farmers generally pay up to 2% of the sum insured for Kharif foodgrain and oilseed crops and up to 1.5% for Rabi foodgrain and oilseed crops. For commercial and horticultural crops, the maximum farmer premium is 5%.

The remaining eligible premium is subsidised by the government under the scheme. For the North-Eastern and Himalayan states and Union Territories, the Centre and state subsidy contribution follows a 90:10 arrangement.

The scheme is voluntary for farmers and states. Tenant and sharecropper farmers can also be covered where they meet the prescribed eligibility and documentation requirements and the crop and area are notified.

Does Technology Guarantee Faster Claims?

Technology can improve assessment, but it does not remove every reason for delays. Claim settlement can still depend on state-level yield data, premium subsidy payments, insurance proposals, loss reporting and other procedural requirements.

The government has introduced the National Crop Insurance Portal and DigiClaim to improve digital processing. A 12% penalty for delayed claim payment by insurers is also automatically calculated on the portal under the scheme’s provisions.

The important change is that crop insurance is gradually moving towards a combination of field observations, remote sensing, weather information and digital records. For farmers, this could mean more evidence is available when crop yields or losses are assessed.

But farmers still need to take the first practical steps: insure the correct crop and area, keep documents, report eligible losses on time and follow the state procedure. Technology can improve the system, but farmers still need to make sure their insurance record is correct.

For a farmer, crop insurance works best as a financial safety net rather than a substitute for good farm planning. As weather risks become harder to predict, having the right coverage and knowing how to claim it can become as important as choosing the crop itself.