Live Insurance News

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

August 14, 2012August 14, 2012 Nordstrom

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…

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…

2012 Farm Bill needed in light of drought disaster

July 27, 2012July 27, 2012 Nordstrom

Drought spurs organization to appeal to federal lawmakers The drought that has gripped much of the U.S. over the past several months is showing no signs of abatement. Indeed, the drought may be getting worse as many states become official disaster areas due to the extremely dry conditions. The drought has already taken its toll on farmers, but is likely to continue causing problems well into the future. This possibility has led the American Soybean Association (ASA) to petition federal legislators to pass the so called 2012 Farm Bill that…

Crop insurance changes are already assisting farmers facing drought

July 25, 2012July 25, 2012 Nordstrom

Dry conditions threaten agricultural yields across the country. As farmers continue to look to the skies and await the much needed rain that never seems to come, changes to the crop insurance program will now be providing some required assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will be helping farmers through this time of drought. This announcement was made by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). He explained that “As the drought worsens, it’s imperative that Pennsylvania farmers have every tool at their disposal to cope with the possible damage.” Senator Casey…

Senate crop insurance reforms face opposition by House panel

July 15, 2012April 30, 2013

Challenges to changes made by U.S. House Agriculture Committee. The two new reforms for crop insurance that had received Senate approval have been challenged by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, forming yet another dispute on the farm bill, as time for enacting the new law comes ever closer to running out. Aside from this disagreement, the House also seeks to boost price supports for crops by up to 40 percent. On the other hand, the Senate would prefer to cease the subsidies altogether. The preference of the House is to…

Crop insurance helps farmers and insurers alike

June 19, 2012June 19, 2012 Marc

These policies, subsidized by the federal government, help protect against losses. When plants fail to grow or are damaged by poor or severe weather, or even when prices plummet, the government is footing the majority of the bill through a crop insurance program for farmers. This coverage helps both the growers and the insurers who write the policies. It functions by providing subsidies to the farmers and the insurers in the case that losses from crops should grow too large. These subsidies are partially paid for by taxpayer dollars. The…

Over $1 million in crop insurance premiums paid to U.S. farms in 2011

June 4, 2012April 30, 2013

Environmental Working Group now requesting reduction in growers’ subsidies from Congress. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), an organization based in Washington, has performed an analysis that has shown that just over 24 U.S. farm operations received more than $1 million in crop insurance premiums payments – each – in 2011, and it has now made a call to Congress to decrease those growers’ subsidies. Policyholders numbering over 100,000 received at least $100,000 each in insurance premium subsidies. The EWG explained in a statement that its calculations were based on records…