Live Insurance News

Crop insurance gets bigger as the latest farm bill’s costs rise

May 16, 2013May 25, 2013 H. Cutner

The federally subsidized program will now offer a minimum of three new forms of protection. The most costly part of the safety net for American farmers, the federally subsidized crop insurance program, will now have at least three new forms of coverage available to growers across the country. The farm bill draft is currently pending in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. It has been suggested that the new form of crop insurance could generate a cost that is 10 percent higher than the expense it currently generates.…

Crop insurance cuts opposed by the American Soybean Association

April 17, 2013April 30, 2013

The ASA has announced its opposition of the reductions to the coverage and restructuring of food aid. The White House budget for 2014 has proposed that the crop insurance program be reduced and that food aid be restructured, but the American Soybean Association (ASA) has released its criticisms of those decisions. The organization represents the soybean farmers across the country and has openly opposed the proposals. The budget proposal for next year included a reduction of the federal crop insurance program by $7.4 billion. The ASA has fiercely criticized that…

Crop insurance claims reach record highs in US

January 17, 2013January 17, 2013 Marc

Crop insurance payouts reach $11 billion In 2012, a severe drought struck the U.S. that quickly became the worst the country had ever seen. The drought brought intense focus to the country’s crop insurance program, which had been established to protect U.S. farmers from natural disasters. The drought caused widespread crop failures, which produced insurance claims from farmers. According to government data, the total cost of the drought, in terms of crop insurance payouts, has been tallied to be $11.581 billion. Risk Management Agency offers new look at crop insurance…

Crop insurance teetering on the “fiscal cliff”

December 17, 2012April 30, 2013

The farm bill has been pushed to help to save the protection subsidies from the axe. Lawmakers from rural areas who are concerned that the $9 billion in annual federal subsidies for crop insurance may be considered to be an easy target for cutting spending in order to avoid the looming fiscal cliff. They are now seeking a new way to compromise on the farm bill in order to continue protecting farmers. The House and Senate Agriculture Committee chairpersons had already been prepared to use a new farm bill in…

Crop insurance claims could reach $20 billion this year

August 6, 2012April 30, 2013

Droughts in 2012 may lead to record breaking insured losses. The drought continues to drag on through many of the main farming states, leading to crop insurance losses that are expected to break records as a result of ruined soybean, wheat, and corn fields. Almost half of the continental American states are experiencing these exceptionally dry conditions. As a result, every day without a significant soaking rain is raising the crop insurance losses. This, according to a National Drought Mitigation Center report at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This is creating…