Under the Federal Crop Insurance Program’s unique public-private partnership, there are currently 15 private companies authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency (USDA RMA) to write MPCI policies.
The service delivery side of the program — writing and reinsuring the policies, marketing, adjusting, and processing claims, training and record-keeping. — is handled by LB and overseen by the Risk Management Agency (RMA). The RMA sets the rates that can be charged and determines which crops can be insured in different parts of the country.
The federal government also subsidizes the farmer-paid premiums to reduce the cost to you. It also provides reimbursement to the insurance companies to offset operating and administrative costs that would otherwise be paid by farmers. Through this federal support, crop insurance remains affordable to a majority of America’s farmers and ranchers.
Crop-Hail policies are not part of the Federal Crop Insurance Program and are provided directly to farmers by insurers like LB Insurance. As you may know, hail has a unique ability to destroy a significant portion of a planted field, while leaving the rest untouched.
In areas of the country where hail is a frequent event, farmers often purchase a Crop-Hail policy to protect high-yielding crops. Unlike MPCI, a Crop-Hail policy can be purchased at any time during the growing season.
LB offers various plans to protect a multitude of livestock industries. You can protect against price declines on milk on a quarterly basis. Similarly, you could buy protection against price declines and/or price margins in a given market.
This coverage offers producers a chance to lock in a minimum percentage of normal rainfall for different periods throughout the growing season. It is most commonly purchased in native pasture land but can be purchased on all hay/graze acres.
Available in every county in the U.S., Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy. This insurance plan is tailored for any farm with up to $8.5 million in insured revenue, including farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets.
