Crop Insurance Today Third Quarter 2019 - 32

lion in total crop insurance indemnities to date
for 2019 (roughly 75 percent of the total). The
average per acre payments for corn and soybeans
was approximately $274 and $200 per acre, respectively. Prior to 2019, the highest year of prevented planting was in 2011 when there were 10
million acres unplanted resulting in $2.2 billion
in indemnities.
It is oftentimes the case that the mission critical role of the crop insurance adjuster is overlooked. Adjusters work tirelessly even in "normal"
years to service the needs of our industry and,
more importantly, to service the needs of those
farmers who have suffered devastating crop losses.
The adjuster is the "spoke in the wheel" that
ensures that a prevented planting claim is processed and paid properly. Adjusters are relied
upon to explain to insureds the rules of prevented planting and what is required of them.
Many insureds that filed prevented planting
claims in 2019 had little or no experience with
the prevented planting coverage provided by
their policy and therefore did not always have
a full grasp of the coverage. The amount of paperwork involved with a prevented planting
claim is not trivial. A prevented planting claim
for a large farm could lead to one, two, or more
days of work. It is not difficult to imagine how
busy the crop adjusting workforce is this year
when a single claim could take multiple days
to complete.
It has often been said that the crop insurance
delivery system is a model of efficiency. But crop
insurance would not be where it is today without the more than 6,500 dedicated crop adjusters
working with farmers in their time of need. No
doubt as we close out 2019, the industry's loss adjustment force will be "Runnin' on Empty." Much
appreciation for their efforts.

Past is Prologue?
"...I'm older now and still runnin'
against the wind..."
-Bob Seger

It is fair to say the past couple of years have not
been "normal." Starting in September 2018 with
arrival of Hurricane Florence, which resulted in
severe damage to the Mid-Atlantic region, a series
of tropical storms created havoc in the Ohio valley,
Northern Mid-Atlantic region and the south-central part of the country. While excess moisture
and high winds plagued those areas, wildfires
consumed about 7.8 million acres nationally-130
32

THIRDQUARTER2019

percent above the 10-year average. Then in October, Hurricane Michael, the third strongest storm
on record made landfall in Florida causing catastrophic damage in western Florida, southwestern
Georgia, and southeastern Alabama.
Following the turmoil in 2018, the industry
loss adjustment force has continued to be on call
24/7 as a result of the extreme moisture events
of 2019 that caused havoc with farmers' ability to
get crops in the ground. All in all, the crop insurance adjusters' response to the events of the past
couple of year represents a monumental effort on
their part.

The Path Forward

And as this issue goes to press, USDA and
RMA have just arranged to work with the industry to help in the delivery of supplementary prevented planting disaster payments, which were
approved by Congress as part of the Disaster Relief Act of 2019. The fact that crop insurers were
asked to help deliver "top off " prevented planting
payments is a testament to the industry's professionalism and hard work over the years. The efficient private-sector delivery system that defines
crop insurance is known for delivering assistance
in days-not weeks or years. And that delivery is
incredibly accurate, as crop insurance improper
payment instances is minimal-less than half the
most recent government average.
Under the plan, RMA will determine farmer
eligibility and will be responsible for calculating
payment amounts. But insurers will dispense
the aid supplementing insurance indemnities
that are already flowing. This will mark the first
time insurers have delivered Congressionally-approved disaster aid. Industry is willing to do our
part in helping rural America rebound after a
very difficult year, and we realize that this affords
insurers a great opportunity to prove once again

why private-sector delivery is so valuable.
With this new chapter of crop insurance being written and our "running" theme I will close
with a classic lyric of the late Dan Fogleberg,
"...and it's Run for the Roses as fast
as you can...it's the chance of a lifetime
in a lifetime of chance..."
Bob Seger-"Against the Wind"

In This Issue

Earlier this year, NCIS launched the latest website in its repertoire of crop insurance educational resources. Crop Insurance 101 was introduced
in conjunction with a Crop Insurance Caucus of
Congressional leaders, who are champions of the
safety net and want to educate other Congressional
leaders and staff on its importance. The 101 website includes the history of the program, a glossary of terms, downloadable fact sheets, and many
other resources. We go into greater detail about
the Caucus and website beginning on page 5. Dean
Strasser, NCIS' resident Whole-Farm Revenue
Protection expert, explains myths and misperceptions of WFRP beginning on page 8. This is a great
resource article for those who are working with
this increasingly popular crop insurance product.
The 2018 agronomic research results start on page
12 and highlight the various research studies NCIS
is conducting on behalf of our membership. The
results are used in conjunction with past and future years' research to ensure that NCIS loss procedures are accurate. And finally, we introduce you
to the farmers we met while visiting Pennsylvania
in early May. These farmers, once again, agreed on
the importance of crop insurance whether it was
for their vegetable, row crops, or dairy. Be sure to
check out their videos on the Crop Insurance in
America website.
Gotta run..."feet don't fail me now..."

Crop Insurance Today Third Quarter 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today Third Quarter 2019