Clusters
Clusters are a group of districts within a state in India.
Clusters are specifically for the crop insurance market in India. By regulation, crop insurance in a given cluster may only be sold by one insurer; insurers bid on the rates they want to charge in a cluster, and the government grants the right to the lowest bidder. Clusters are assembled to smooth out risk, by combining low risk districts with high risk ones.
Clusters are confined to a single state, but do not otherwise have to be geographically contiguous. Small states may only have one cluster defined containing all of the districts, while large states may have 5-10 clusters of 5-10 districts each. Clusters are liable to change from year to year; Touchstone Re is developing a tool to support those changes.
