Assessing the Determinants of Albanian Cow Breeding Farmers' Willingness to Pay for Livestock Insurance

Livestock insurance products protect and support the development of the livestock sector. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the willingness of farmers to become part of the livestock insurance scheme, as well as identify factors that would increase the interest of insurance companies in offering livestock insurance products. Data was collected through two structured questionnaires. The first questionnaire was directed to cow breeding farmers, and the second was addressed to insurance experts. The variables were tested through the logistic regression model. 73% of the surveyed farmers were unwilling to pay for livestock insurance. The results show that the number of family members, number of cows, farm investment, land ownership status, and farmers' trust in insurance companies positively impact farmers' willingness to pay for livestock insurance. On the other hand, the experience in livestock farming and government assistance negatively affected the willingness of farmers to buy livestock insurance products. According to insurance experts, government premium subsidies and increased awareness among farmers about the importance of insurance schemes are the main factors that encourage insurance companies to increase the supply of livestock insurance products.