Idaho is whole hog for whole farm insurance.
In only its second year of availability through the federal crop insurance program, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection sales are up dramatically in year 2, with some industry insiders expecting 2016 to be even stronger.
A spokesperson for Leavitt Group, which offers crop insurance across much of the US, said he expects the company to triple its policies in place next year.
Dan Bramwell, a claims supervisor with Rain and Hail, speaking to a farm group in Twin Falls, Idaho recently, said his company generated nearly $9 million in premiums and subsidies from whole farm policies in Idaho this year, and told Capital Press he expects that number to go up by about $5 million next year.
The policies are available in every county of every US state cover everything grown on a farm under one policy, with a cap of $8.5 million in coverage, ranging from 85% coverage of a $10 million revenue operation to 50% coverage of a $17 million farm. The policies cover no more than $1 million in animal products, and have various other limits according to a bulletin issued by the Risk Management Agency.
The policies provide better protection against price, low quality, and low yield better than multi-peril policies for single crops typically offer. The policies also cover specialty crops than often cannot be covered individually.
Bramwell said banks and lenders love the policies for the protection they offer against operating loans.
