Crop insurance ? for the brain trust

2013 I had a claim on my soybeans and they paid out, when doing the paper work for it all that spring my agent over
the phone asked for yield history since I never had dealt with these guys for beans before, corn but not beans. He
asked for 12, 11, 10 and if remember right 09, I told him I didn't plant any those years, so he filled out the paper
work over the phone remember, and put me down as a NEW PRODUCER! Well in the mail a couple weeks ago I got a letter
stating looking at my claim I was put as a new producer but they said I wasn't and they want so many dollars back!
Now if the agent told me he was putting me as a new producer I don't remember it since it was 3 years ago. So what
does a guy do? I called the company, the feller wasn't in that day and has yet to call back even after I left a
message, called agent talked to him he said he would look into it and call back, never called back yet! Talked to my
banker who is also a crop insurance agent and he said that since the agent filled it out that way it was their
problem and this is a common thing that happens, is the banker right? Going to try my agent again and see what is
going on, just what to know you fellers thoughts! Thanks.

Many on here will disagree,but the CROP INS.Racket is the most CORROUPT thing going.Most agents are in it to make themselves or family members rich.Most agents don't care whether you are served or not unless you are in the"CORRECT" Group.NO I don't carry it (take my own chances)and haven't for close to 40 yrs.I have done some custom farming a few times and seen where in a bad yr.,two or more members of a family have different Agents file claims(I did all the paper work(word for word&was inspected)and one might get $$$$$,one$$ and rest 00000)all do to the way the agent worded the policy.So good luck going forward.

New producer status is designed to give someone starting out a better yield history.

So if they gave you that break, your yield is higher, meaning you were overpaid.

This all gets bounced off the USDA computers and I dont see any way you can get out of repaying it.

Short of claiming the agent made the mistake and going against his Errors and Ommissions coverage. Which they do not like to do as they have to pay a deductible.

When setting up the APH yields, they like to have the 4 most recent years, as that allows them to use a straight 4year average. Anything less than 4 years, and they have to plug in a "T" yield for each missing year (less than 4)

In your example, 2013 should have figured into the APH. It is always the 4 most recent years.

Good luck, Gene

Why is the tax payer subsidizing crop insurance?

Corporate welfare?

(quoted from post at 16:54:53 02/24/16) Why is the tax payer subsidizing crop insurance?

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Are you asking why are there farm programs? Do you eat? We may not all agree with the tax code however whatever business you are in you had best take all the tax advantages offered, even if you would prefer they not be offered.

Go after the agent,his licenses is on the line.

(quoted from post at 18:26:38 02/24/16)

(quoted from post at 16:54:53 02/24/16) Why is the tax payer subsidizing crop insurance?

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Are you asking why are there farm programs? Do you eat? We may not all agree with the tax code however whatever business you are in you had best take all the tax advantages offered, even if you would prefer they not be offered.

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What's a farm program got to do with eating. Farmers keep claiming that farming is a business. So there should be no farm programs other than the same tax write offs enjoyed by other businesses. If a farmer fails because those programs get shut off then so be it. Another farmer who is making a profit will pick up the slack.

Frank: Crop insurance is subsidized because insurance companies know that almost every year in one area or another there are going to be massive losses. Eventually every farmer is going to have a loss. That drives up the cost of the insurance to the point hat a lot of farmers wouldn't be able to afford it or it would deprive them of any profit. While I don't like subsidies some private citizens get those subsidies too. Like SNAP (food stamps) and so on or federally subsidized flood insurance.

Gotta remember that the insurance company is gambling that they won't have to pay out much in losses. That helps keep rates in check. When you can expect to pay out to customers 100% over say a 10 year period that just isn't sustainable for an insurance company unless the rates are outrageous.

Rick

I agree they need to correct the paperwork. Around me for new producer they use a state average for the crop (example 1500 lbs to the acre). I have mixed feelings on crop insurance, good for some people or crops but not all. Oh when you have a claim it crashes your average so going forward your not in the high yield or pay bracket.

Does a banker who is also a crop insurance agent ever have a conflict of interest when he's evaluating a crop loss for a farmer that he also has a banking/lending/financing relationship with ?

(quoted from post at 11:08:02 02/25/16) Does a banker who is also a crop insurance agent ever have a conflict of interest when he's evaluating a crop loss for a farmer that he also has a banking/lending/financing relationship with ?

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It's up to the insurance company here in MN as to who can adjust a loss. So if the agent/banker has no authority to adjust a claim has no conflict of interest in how the claim is settled. For the banker where the conflict would be in forcing the farmer to buy crop insurance through him to get the loan.

Like my farm and auto coverage is through the same agent. For the farm, not counting crop insurance, he can adjust a claim up to 5K himself. For auto he is not allowed by the company to settle any claim. Conflict of interest? Sure. It's in his best interest to settle fast and a little more than fair to keep customers happy.

Rick

My dad hasn't carried any crop insurance in over 10 years, probably closer to 20 by now. Only a couple years in there where we might have been able to use it, but every other year where the yields were down, they found a way to worm out of it. Every year he paid in, but not once did he ever recover any losses in a bad year.

Plan out your finances with a little cushion and you're much better off.

Donovan from Wisconsin

I buy insurance on my grape crop- very easy to have yield records/averages. The very first year I had a complete crop loss due to Spring frost- I had $400-500 invested in the premium and got a check for around $6K. I figured it paid for itself for ten more years! Neither my Dad nor Grandpa before him had ever thought insurance was affordable. Both were amazed at my brilliant management (soon proven to be much worse than theirs).

I upgraded from the very basic CAT policy to the top-of-the-line version. Since then, I have had one other claim, when the crop was so HUGE, it never reached maturity before the killing frosts came. The better policy paid off even better, but still not near what that crop would have made if it had been harvestable.

My cost of the insurance has risen from $50 per acre to almost $250/A, thanks mostly to the much higher yields I have experienced in the last five years. If only the price we get paid for our crop would have risen at the same rate- last year's per ton value was the same number as 1973, so I was told. I am now in a place where I could actually survive with out the coverage, but am still under the career breakeven cost, if that makes any sense.

I worked in the insurance claims business for many years but did not handle crop insurance. I used to have people tell me they went 20
years and never had a claim so when they did have one I should treat them better than the policy allowed. My standard response was you are
lucky if you never had a claim for insurance is to make you whole and not to profit you. One thing we all forget is that with insurance we
have a certain level of peace of mind that we wouldn't have otherwise. And peace of mind is worth a lot. I prefer never to have a claim
and have very few over the years so I have spent much more than I ever collected. But as I said peace of mind is worth a lot.