Tag: drought

Crop insurance could cost American taxpayers record amounts

private Crop Insurance

Droughts and floods could require $15 billion in U.S. taxes to subsidize this year’s program. Taxpayers in the United States may be facing a record breaking $15 billion in order to be able to continue subsidizing the privately operated crop insurance program, following the devastation from massive droughts throughout the Farm Belt, and flooding in other agricultural regions. Congress is currently seeking a way to help to control the skyrocketing costs. It has been a topic of a great deal of debate and discussion as Congress tries to reduce the…

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Crop insurance comes under fire in the midst of U.S. drought

Nordstrom
US drought 2012

Drought highlights the controversy surrounding crop insurance The worst drought in 60 years has established a stranglehold in the U.S. The severity and persistence of the disaster is threatening to cause widespread food shortage as the country’s corn and soybean crops begin to suffer. The onset of the drought has brought attention to the country’s crop insurance program. The program was initially formed as a way to provide farmers with the protection they needed but has been subjected to several changes throughout its existence. Now, concerns are rising over the…

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AIR Worldwide Launches Multiple Peril Crop Insurance Model for China

Guest Author

Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) released the industry’s first Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) Model for China. The new model provides a fully probabilistic approach for determining the likelihood of losses to the country’s major crops: corn, cotton, rapeseed, rice, soybeans, and wheat. The model captures the significant effects that weather-related perils have on each crop during the growth stage. This detailed information will help companies better prepare for and understand the exposure they carry based on China’s specific insurance programs, which tend to vary by province. “China…

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Texas wildfires wreak havoc on citizens and the insurance industry

Texas is battling a raging wildfire that has broken out in Bastrop, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. The fires have already scorched more than 100,000 acres of land and burned several hundred homes throughout Central Texas. Many communities have been evacuated as no end is currently in sight for the wildfires. The disaster is expected to add to the financial strain bearing down on the nation’s insurance industry, which is already reeling from two costly flooding disasters stemming from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Insurers are estimating that the…

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U.S. to be a “weather-ready” nation as the federal government takes measures to guard against destructive weather

To date, the cost of natural disasters befalling the U.S. has reached $35 billion. The year is not yet over and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts several turbulent storms crowding the horizon. While there can be no guarantee whether these storms will actually come to pass, the federal government is not willing to suffer more losses at the hands of nature. NOAA, along with the National Weather Service, is now tasked with making the nation “weather-ready.” The initiative aims to provide protection to communities throughout the nation…

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