A crop insurance advice grant proposed in the Federal Government’s agriculture white paper will help more rural brokers enter the sector, Latevo International CEO Andrew Trotter says.

“We understand the important role brokers play in advising rural clients on the best insurance options available for the risks they face,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“The insurance advice incentive grant can go a long way in helping brokers provide advice and knowledge to their clients.

“Part of these funds can be used to collect data and prepare for the audit that is part of the Latevo [crop insurance] program.”

Mr Trotter says rural brokers are well placed to help farmers with the audit.

“It is Latevo’s intention to further establish ourselves as a broker brand and encourage more brokers to use us in the future,” he said. “In the [current] cropping year we had a small number of brokers market our product. However, we wish to significantly increase this in the 2016 cropping year.”

Mr Trotter says the insurer is considering including other crops in its product’s coverage, including horticulture items, cotton, sugar cane and viticulture items.

“Involvement with rural brokers will be paramount as we expand,” he said. “Latevo values the relationship rural brokers have with their clients and we wish to utilise this relationship.”

In this year’s crop season Latevo insured 150,000 hectares across all states, up 250% on the previous season, he says.