What is crop insurance?
Crop insurance is the part of agricultural insurance that pays when a growing crop is lost or damaged by drought, excess rain, floods, hail, frost, fire, windstorm, or pests and diseases you could not control. In Kenya you can insure either what you spent on inputs or the harvest you expected, as indemnity cover checked by an assessor, or as cheaper index cover that pays on the area's yield or rainfall.
What crop insurance covers
Drought
A failed or poor season from lack of rain. Not available for irrigated crops, which have their own water.
Excess rain and floods
Waterlogging, washed-out fields and flood damage, increasingly common in the long rains.
Hail, frost and windstorm
Sudden weather damage to the standing crop, important in the highlands and for tea, wheat and barley.
Fire and lightning
Field and barn fires. Named-peril fire cover is the usual policy for sugarcane and plantations.
Pests and diseases you cannot control
Outbreaks that good farming practice cannot stop. Pests you could have controlled are excluded.
Prevented or failed planting
Some policies pay if the rains stop you planting, or fund replanting after an early total loss.
Which crops can be insured?
| Crop group | Examples | Usual cover |
|---|---|---|
| Cereals | Maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, rice | Multi-peril; area-yield index for maize and sorghum |
| Pulses, roots and vegetables | Beans, green grams, potatoes, onions | Multi-peril; area-yield index for green grams, potatoes, onions |
| Cash crops | Tea, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, pyrethrum, cotton | Multi-peril, or named-peril fire for cane |
| Horticulture and flowers | Tomatoes, capsicum, French beans, roses | Open-field horticulture or greenhouse cover |
| Tree crops | Avocado, macadamia, mango, timber | Orchard and forestry cover |
- Examples
- Maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, rice
- Usual cover
- Multi-peril; area-yield index for maize and sorghum
- Examples
- Beans, green grams, potatoes, onions
- Usual cover
- Multi-peril; area-yield index for green grams, potatoes, onions
- Examples
- Tea, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, pyrethrum, cotton
- Usual cover
- Multi-peril, or named-peril fire for cane
- Examples
- Tomatoes, capsicum, French beans, roses
- Usual cover
- Open-field horticulture or greenhouse cover
- Examples
- Avocado, macadamia, mango, timber
- Usual cover
- Orchard and forestry cover
Insurers quote crop by crop, after a farm visit for most commercial cover.
More on Trees, orchards & bees
Multi-peril, named-peril or index cover?
| Multi-peril (MPCI) | Named-peril | Area-yield or weather index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it covers | All the listed natural perils | One or two perils, such as fire | A shortfall in the area's yield or rainfall |
| How loss is measured | An assessor inspects your field | An assessor inspects your field | Crop cuts, weather stations or satellite |
| Cost | Highest | Lower | Lowest, and subsidised for listed crops |
| Suits | Commercial and financed farms | Cane, plantations, one main risk | Smallholders |
- Multi-peril (MPCI)
- All the listed natural perils
- Named-peril
- One or two perils, such as fire
- Area-yield or weather index
- A shortfall in the area's yield or rainfall
- Multi-peril (MPCI)
- An assessor inspects your field
- Named-peril
- An assessor inspects your field
- Area-yield or weather index
- Crop cuts, weather stations or satellite
- Multi-peril (MPCI)
- Highest
- Named-peril
- Lower
- Area-yield or weather index
- Lowest, and subsidised for listed crops
- Multi-peril (MPCI)
- Commercial and financed farms
- Named-peril
- Cane, plantations, one main risk
- Area-yield or weather index
- Smallholders
Inputs or expected harvest: setting the sum insured
- Input-cost basis: the money you put into each acre (seed, fertiliser, chemicals, land preparation and labour). This is common for smallholders and for crops grown on an input loan.
- Expected-yield basis: your expected harvest per acre, valued at a price you agree with the insurer. Insurers usually guarantee part of your average yield and pay the shortfall below it.
- Expect to give your input cost per acre, a market price per kilo, bag or tonne, and several seasons of yield records.
- Under-insuring cuts your payout, and over-insuring only raises the premium: the insurer pays the real loss.
When to buy: before you plant
- Send the proposal before planting, with the farm's location, acreage, crop, variety and planned planting dates.
- The insurer inspects the field and confirms the terms; some also want a crop-establishment report after the crop emerges.
- Plant within the agreed planting window, using good farming practice.
- Cover is seasonal and ends at harvest. Claims are usually settled at the end of the season, though an early total loss may be paid so you can replant.
What crop insurance costs
The one insurer that publishes crop rates charges 4.5% to 15% of the sum insured, depending on the crop and the perils. On maize inputs of about KES 40,000 an acre that is roughly KES 1,800 to 6,000 for the season. Subsidised area-yield cover costs far less: about KSh 620 an acre for maize in one county.
See farm insurance costs and worked examples
Crop losses in Kenya: the numbers
The October–December 2023 El Niño floods cost agriculture about KSh 16.26 billion, with 84,568 acres of crops and 6,706 animals lost.
Source: Capital FM, January 2024
By mid-May 2024 the long-rains floods had damaged 47,578 acres of cropland and killed 11,311 livestock.
Source: UN OCHA via ReliefWeb (May 2024)
The Crops Act 2013 mentions crop insurance only as an area for which the Agriculture and Food Authority may set up arrangements; it makes cover compulsory for no crop.
Source: Crops Act 2013, s.34(1)(e)
Damage by wild animals to crops or livestock is claimed from the County Wildlife Conservation and Compensation Committee, and no compensation is paid if the owner took no reasonable steps to protect them.
How to insure your crop with Naveah
- Tell us the crop Crop, variety, acreage, county, rain-fed or irrigated, and whether a lender is involved.
- We compare insurers Multi-peril, named-peril or index, on inputs or on yield, side by side.
- Field visit We book the insurer's pre-cover inspection before you plant.
- Pay and plant Pay by M-Pesa or bank; your policy and planting dates are confirmed.
- Claim support If the season fails, we notify the insurer within 24 hours and follow the assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Which crops can be insured in Kenya?
Almost any commercially grown crop: maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, rice, beans, green grams, potatoes and onions; tea, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco and pyrethrum; vegetables, horticulture and flowers; and tree crops. Insurers quote crop by crop, usually after a farm visit. The subsidised area-yield scheme covers maize, sorghum, green grams, potatoes and onions.
What does crop insurance not cover?
The usual exclusions in Kenyan crop policies are:
- Drought on irrigated crops
- Pests and diseases you could have controlled, and damage from misapplied pesticides
- Poor husbandry or planting outside the agreed planting window
- Loss of quality when work on the farm stops, and losses from a delayed harvest
- Produce confiscated by an authority
- Theft or unexplained disappearance of the crop, unless added
- Wildlife damage, which is a claim to the county committee instead
Wording varies by insurer, so we show you the exact exclusions before you sign.
When should I buy crop insurance?
Before you plant. Insurers want the proposal in before planting so they can inspect the field and confirm the planting dates; some also ask for a crop-establishment report soon after the crop comes up. Cover arranged after a drought or flood has started will not pay for it.
Does crop insurance pay my input costs or my lost harvest?
You choose. Input-cost cover pays back what you spent on seed, fertiliser, chemicals, land preparation and labour if the crop fails. Yield cover pays the shortfall between your guaranteed yield and what you actually harvest, valued at an agreed price per kilo, bag or tonne. Some insurers let you combine both.
How much is crop insurance per acre?
It depends on the crop, the perils and the sum insured. The one insurer that publishes rates charges 4.5% to 15% of the sum insured. Insuring maize inputs worth about KES 40,000 an acre would therefore cost roughly KES 1,800 to 6,000 for the season, before the 0.25% PCF levy. Subsidised KAIP maize cover has cost farmers about KSh 620 an acre.
Are locusts and fall armyworm covered?
Policies cover 'uncontrollable pests and diseases' rather than naming locusts or armyworm. Damage you could reasonably have controlled, or caused by misapplied chemicals, is excluded. Area-yield index cover pays on the area's yield whatever the cause, so a locust year that cuts the whole unit's harvest can trigger a payout.
Is drought covered if my crop is irrigated?
No. Insurers exclude drought on irrigated land because the farm has its own water. Irrigated crops can still be insured against hail, floods, fire, windstorm, frost and uncontrollable pests and diseases.
Does crop insurance cover damage by wild animals?
Standard crop policies do not list wildlife damage. You can claim compensation from the County Wildlife Conservation and Compensation Committee under the wildlife law, as long as you took reasonable steps to protect the crop.
Is private crop insurance the same as the government scheme?
No. The government-backed scheme (KAIP) is an area-yield index cover for listed crops on 0.5 to 20 acres, with half the premium paid by the government, and every farmer in a unit is paid at the same rate. Private multi-peril cover is unsubsidised but pays on your own farm's assessed loss and covers far more crops.
Planting soon?
Tell us the crop, the acreage and where it is. We compare the insurers that cover it and arrange the field visit before you plant.
Licensed by IRA · No obligation · We reply within 1 hour
Sources (9)
- State Department for Agriculture, KAIP presentation (March 2024)
- Kenyan insurers' agriculture pages, checked 18 October 2026
- Kenya News Agency (Murang'a)
- Capital FM, January 2024
- UN OCHA via ReliefWeb (May 2024)
- Crops Act 2013, s.34(1)(e)
- Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013, s.25
- National Agricultural Insurance Policy (December 2023)
- State Department for Agriculture, KAIP presentation (Financial Protection Forum, March 2024)
Facts and published prices checked 18 Oct 2026; last reviewed October 2026 by Naveah Capital. Rates shown are published bands, scheme figures and market estimates before levies, not a quote or a promise. Naveah Capital Insurance Agency is an IRA-licensed insurance agency in Nairobi; this page is general information, and your policy wording decides your cover.
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