Farmers busy harvesting and grading onions at a farm in Bub Ka Hera village in Alwar district of Rajasthan | Photo credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
A media statement said the claim was paid to farmers in more than 30 villages in Tonk because the moisture-based parametric coverage based on the Water Balance Index (WBI) exceeded the predefined water balance threshold for excess moisture. Excess moisture makes the soil waterlogged, increasing the risk of crop rot, which affects the overall yield and income of farmers in the rabi season. The claim will benefit nearly 500 farmers, providing support to vulnerable farming households and helping them manage losses during climate disruptions, the report said.
Digit Insurance partnered with Howden Insurance India to offer WBI-based parametric excess moisture and drought solutions to over 6,000 farmers in Rajasthan (Tonk) and Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Jaunpur), covering nearly 2,200 hectares of agricultural land.
‘Tools of trust’
The statement quotes Adarsh Agarwal, appointed actuary at Digit Insurance: “At Digit Insurance, our aim is to design data-driven insurance solutions that directly address the real risks and expectations of our customers. India is prone to various climate-related risks and parametric insurance is a unique concept that has the potential to protect various vulnerable segments. Water Balance Index-based parametric insurance is one such solution to help farmers provide quick financial support in times of need. Our aim will always be to stay ahead of the market curve and work with all stakeholders to develop science-based and innovative parametric triggers to raise the standard of protection across the country.”
Mohammad Faizan Huq, Head – Climate Risk and Agriculture, Howden India, said as climate volatility increases, India’s agriculture sector deserves tools that provide speed, transparency and trust.
“We are proud to support programs that use robust indices to provide quick liquidity when the weather is bad. Parametric insurance is still evolving in India, but has enormous potential to transform the way insurance is delivered to vulnerable segments. Collaborative partnerships with innovative insurance companies like Digit will ensure these solutions benefit broader communities in the future,” said Mohammad Faizan Huq.
WBI-driven parametric moisture insurance
Developed by Global Parametrics, a specialist in climate risk analysis and parametric insurance solutions, the WBI is used as a proxy to measure excess moisture or drought in a given location. The index measures the difference between precipitation and potential evaporation levels, and the product is activated using ERA5 Continental Climate data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), an independent European intergovernmental organization.
The WBI is tailored to capture soil moisture stress conditions that directly affect rural smallholder farmers and their families. The use of parametric insurance means the product responds to objective, verifiable climate data, delivering transparent and timely payouts to policyholders.
A payout is triggered when the predefined water balance threshold is reached or exceeded, resulting in payouts in the range of 10-100 percent of the total limit, depending on the severity of the excess fluid.
Published on January 29, 2026
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