Russian drought shows value of insurance-Medvedev

* No more than 20 pct of sowing lands insured

* Government subsidies may help develop the sector

GORKI, Russia, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Russians need to learn a lesson from the drought which ravaged crops and the wildfires which destroyed thousands of homes -- insurance is a necessary expense, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday. Unlike in developed economies, insurance is still a nascent market in Russia, leaving the government to bear the cost of rebuilding homes and putting farmers on the brink of bankruptcy.

"A maximum of 20 percent of sowing lands...were insured. When I ask (farmers) 'why don't you insure your property', the answer is 'it is expensive', 'we don't see a reason why'," Medvedev told officials at a meeting on the insurance industry.

"It is evident, that our citizens and companies, including agricultural producers, should insure (their property) in the same way it is done worldwide. They should be sure that they'll get their compensation paid in case the insured risk happens."

Russia's insurance industry comprises more than 700 companies, led by state-owned Rosgosstrakh which has been earmarked as a possible privatisation target.

Medvedev vowed to improve the insurance market as a key precondition of turning Moscow into a global financial centre -- a long-standing Kremlin project which had been put aside due to the recession.

The government may encourage the sector by subsidising people willing to insure their property, Kremlin's top economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters after the meeting. (Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Erica Billingham)