Taking cover: a weather-indexed insurance startup
Weather index insurance isn’t new. However, these types of insurance have historically been reserved for large corporations – those with the financial backing to take such policies out, or the size and scope of operation to justify it.
Traditional insurance models are often expensive, subjective to assessment of actual damage, and slow to process, leading to widespread market withdrawal and leaving producers exposed. A weather-indexed approach, like insurable’s, uses predefined weather parameters, such as rainfall levels or temperature, to trigger payouts when specific thresholds are met. By providing accessible, data-backed insurance that supports growers’ financial certainty and encourages proactive farm management and resilience, insurable is addressing a key industry challenge.
Through her general insurance business, insurable Co-Founder Hayley Hancock saw that financial struggles with local winemakers and grape growers were often linked to weather events, which were having a widespread impact on the community both in terms of farm business operations and mental health. It was clear that traditional insurance products were not fit for the needs of local agricultural producers.
“We live and work in a regional community. We’re surrounded by winemakers and grape growers, and that’s the lifeblood of the community,” explained Hayley.
“We got to thinking, there's got to be a way that we can help. We saw a gap in the market, particularly where unexpected weather events were really taking a toll on the local industry,” Hayley said. “We put our heads together, did a lot of research and a lot of consultation, and that’s where Insurable was born. It was originally designed to support the wine grape industry, but it has certainly evolved from there.”
Another option: A weather-index approach
“We have the data, and the history, to show how frequently weather events have occurred,” Hayley said. “Weather-indexed insurance is using data that modern businesses already know and are following on their farms. We're not reinventing the wheel in that sense, but we are fundamentally changing the way insurance is managed.”
Rather than insurance being paid out upon the measured losses of an individual policyholder following a weather event, Insurable provides payouts based on pre-determined, objective weather parameters. Payouts are calculated based on data from trusted sources, like the Bureau of Meteorology, meaning that Insurable does not need to assess damage, leading to faster payments.
“Going into the growing season, we sit down with the community, or the grower association, and we understand from them what the need is, and what their pain point is. For example, in the wine grape industry, they may sustain three days above 38 degrees, but anything over that will significantly impact their yield. That’s when the trigger of the insurance kicks in. There’s no actual proving of losses. There are no lengthy delays in administration. It’s simply validating that the weather occurred and getting those payments out to those growers almost immediately,” Hayley said.
A community-minded approach
“What we’re trying to do is actually create some economies of scale within local communities by pooling them all together,” Hayley explains. “We see that major weather events don’t just affect one individual landholder. If they’re affecting one grower, they’re also affecting their neighbours and their region.”
In doing this, insurable can keep administrative costs low, thereby increasing the amount of money that can flow back into the community. “We’re trying to remove those accessibility and cost-prohibitive issues for producers,” Hayley said.
insurable fills a gap, from primary producers through to suppliers, processors, wholesalers and retailers. Because there is no asset-based assessment, anyone who has an interest in that commodity can buy insurance to protect that interest. “It makes the agricultural sector in Australia more attractive for investment and government support,” Hayley said.
Hayley is hopeful that insurable’s model could encourage government-subsidised insurance which focuses on building resilience over the long-term, recognising and supporting producers who are investing in best practice, and those who are investing in measures which lessen the burden on government disaster recovery.
“It’s about smoothing out those really tough years for our growers,” Hayley said. “It’s about the sustainability of our food supply. We feel like we can make some really positive change, which can then keep communities more viable.”
Beanstalk to beyond
Through participating in the Beanstalk Drought Venture Studio Innovator Showcase in July 2025 it became clear to Hayley that their business model wasn’t just appropriate for wine processors, but for producers across agriculture.
“That event catapulted us into the business sphere through some of the connections we made.”
One of those connections included the AgriFutures growAG. platform. This connection led to an opportunity seeking industry partners and collaborators to co-design tailored insurance products, access relevant weather data sources, improve data transparency and insights and pilot offerings with growers.
The team has received strong interest from potential partners and are keen to continue discussions with producers, collaborators, industry partners and investors. As Hayley explained, the momentum and interest in Insurable reflects the success of a community-led approach.
“The community really get behind things when they can see the true value in it. And it’s designed for them, in collaboration with them,” she said. “Community-led programs deliver community-minded solutions.”
To learn more about their current opportunity, visit growAG: https://www.growag.com/opportunity/insurable-innovative-weather-based-crop-protection-seeking-industry-partners-and-collaborators