Crop Insurance Solutions is constantly striving to keep farmers in the loop about the latest news, policies, and updates surrounding the crop insurance industry. It’s the second most important things we do, right after providing the best, most cost-efficient crop insurance policies possible to our clients. Last week, the Fremont Tribune ran an article originally published in the Lincoln Journal Star by Matt Olberding about some local crop insurance news that could affect policies right here in the Midwest. This week, we’re talking about what happened, who it could affect, and how this incident came to be.
Crop Pro No Longer USDA Approved
The insurance company Crop Pro is not on a Department of Agriculture list of approved providers for 2019 according to the article. The Des Moines based company was on last year’s list, but after an incident that took place this spring, it seems they’re no longer USDA approved.
Who could be Affected
Farmers across Iowa, Nebraska, and Colorado had insurance policies with the startup company. Because USDA approval is crucial to the crop industry, anyone with a policy with the company Crop Pro will need to switch policies if they want USDA coverage for 2019.
How Did this Happen?
The company’s loss of USDA approval could be due to an incident this year in which they were forced to cancel a number of supplemental hail policies for farmers across Iowa, Nebraska, and Colorado. They had sold more policies than they could receive reinsurance for, so approximately 200 Nebraskans lost their policies. Luckily, the USDA allowed those who lost policies to switch back to their old providers without penalty. Unfortunately for the farmers, many of them had switched providers specifically to access the supplemental hail damage provided by Crop Pro. According to the Journal Star, neither Crop Pro nor the USDA responded to journalists inquiring whether the company left the government group of approved providers voluntarily or was dropped by the USDA. The article also states, “Nebraska Department of Insurance Director Bruce Ramge said his department still has an open investigation going on Crop Pro” and that they cannot rule out taking additional action against the company.
If you’re concerned about your crop insurance coverage for 2019, call Nick Glanzer at Crop Insurance Solutions. I’d welcome the opportunity to help you sort everything out.