stated percentage of annual expected losses, called 'normal' losses. The significant percentage loss level could be five percent, 10 percent or some other percentage level depending on the vulnerability of the particular production system type and cultured species. Normal losses are those that producers encounter throughout the production cycle and are considered an expected part of doing business. All producers at the first annual NRMFPA workshop said they were not looking for an insurance policy to cover normal losses, but for a policy that would cover the single catastrophic loss event stemming from an unexpected, unintentional and accidental loss (Miller et al. 2002). Secondly, the expected magnitude of loss from each disease outbreak for a specific peril is needed. The distribution of normal losses and the associated magnitude of expected losses are used to calculate premium rates. Third, an understanding of the available management options to prevent or mitigate the threat posed by the peril is required. Are outbreaks of this disease caused by poor farm management? Are measures available to prevent and mitigate the severity of the outbreak? Can one clearly determine that this disease alone primarily causes the Are the other diseases associated with losses from this disease insurable? Does this disease cause acute losses? Can a loss (i.e. dead fish) from this disease be quantified? Insurability conditions were modified for assessing livestock diseases and adapted for evaluating fish diseases affecting aquaculture production by Shaik et al. 2004 and Coble et al. 2004. The NRMFPA divided insurabilFig. 1. Decision chart for determining insurability of diseases. ity criteria into primary and secondary categories. The primary criteria used to separate potentially insurable diseases from diseases that fundamentally should not be insured are depicted in the flow chart in Figure 1. Primary insurability criteria include: ■ Determinable Cause of Loss-When a loss event occurs, the primary cause of death must be accurately identifiable by a third party. Some potentially insurable diseases coincide with diseases that may not be insurable and make determining the primary cause of death difficult. It is important that non-insurable diseases not be accidentally indemnified because of a misdiagnosis of the cause of death. ■ Measurable Loss-Fish that die as a result of a disease outbreak must be countable in terms of the number, size and/or weight lost. Pond, raceway and net pen production systems vary in their ease, or difficulty, in quantifyTable 2. Classification according to primary insurability criteria. Species Disease Primary lnsurability Criteria Meets Primary Determinable Acute, Loss Not lnsurability Criteria Primary Cause Measurable Preventable, of Loss Loss Treatable, or Related to Management Catfish Visceral Toxicosis of Catfish ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Aeromonas species X NIA NIA X Saprolegnia ✓ ✓IX ✓ ✓IX Trout Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (exotic) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Bacterial Gill Disease NIA X X X Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis ✓ ✓IX ✓IX ✓IX Salmon Infectious Salmon Anemia ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Vibriosis ✓ ✓ X X Baitfish Spring Viremia of Carp ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Spring Die Off of Golden Shiners X X ✓ X 30 MARCH 2007
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