Pacifica is the number-one insurer of France's forests

Pacifica, a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Assurances, has partnered XLB to become the leading insurer of France's forests, with over 50 per cent of the market.

The two partners are pooling their expertise to provide insurance solutions for forest owners. Pacifica is insuring the portfolio of the specialised brokerage XLB, which will continue to handle subscriptions and claims. Meanwhile, Crédit Agricole Regional Banks and LCL will recommend the policies, which provide coverage against storm and fire damage, as well as liability insurance.

With this move, Pacifica is demonstrating both its commitment to the forestry sector, which remains a relatively uninsured market, and its ability to broaden its range to include highly specialised products. Just 5 per cent of France's private forests are insured against storm and fire, a figure that the government wants to see raised to 25 per cent over the next three years. The Farming Modernisation Act has given a boost to this objective by providing incentives through tax breaks on forestry insurance premiums.

Insuring forests is also a way of making a real commitment to the environment. In the event of a fire or storm, it will be simpler to replant an insured forest than an uninsured one.

This new offering, coming in the International Year of Forests, is one of the first illustrations of the Crédit Agricole Group's strategic project for 2014 in the area of environmental economics. It is designed to mesh with the existing credit and savings products and services offered by the Regional Banks and LCL to private and professional customers owning forests in France.