Did you know an Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) as a part of your existing crop insurance policy can provide stability against falling commodity prices and a higher revenue floor? ECO is a cost-effective risk management tool that offers additional Revenue or Yield Protection.

ECO crop insurance coverage explained 

ECO is an area-based band of coverage that attaches to your existing eligible crop insurance policy.  ECO crop insurance coverage provides two coverage levels to choose from: 86-90% or 86-95% depending on your specific needs. It is typically taken at 95% coverage level, meaning even a small drop in revenue, price and/or yield would trigger an indemnity payment. The ECO endorsement matches your underlying policy and is typically measured by the levels in your county. For example, if a producer chooses Revenue Protection, then the indemnity is county revenue based. If a producer chooses Yield Protection, then ECO indemnity is county yield based. 
 

How ECO works 

This supplemental coverage option works especially well in a situation where county revenues dip, but not enough to trigger a Revenue Protection claim. Producers without ECO can sustain considerable damage in their production area before their individual policy indemnifies. With ECO however, producers can receive a payment when the area has more than a 5% (depending on elected coverage level) decrease in expected revenue, even if they are individually experiencing a bumper crop that year.

 
Similarly, if grain prices dip lower than the revenue floor established by a producer, they can wait to market the grain as the insurance is offsetting losses. Because ECO is revenue based, it also can generate an indemnity if county yields dip causing revenue to fall. Producers who typically track count yields should especially consider ECO as it provides an indemnity from falling county-based revenue.  
 

Why to consider ECO

The ECO subsidy is increasing from 44% in 2024, 65% in 2025, to 80% subsidy in 2026, making this an even more cost-effective strategy to mitigate risk and provide coverage to your crops.

Take a look at the table below to see how ECO will be an even more affordable option for providing additional coverage in 2026. 

Example at 95% Coverage Level	2024	2025	2026
Coverage	$70	$70	$70
Subsidy	$16.81	$20.89	$25.71
Estimated farmer premium	$21.39	$11.25	$6.43

The estimated premium for 2026 has declined by a large amount due to large increases in government subsidy.  This is primarily a result of the increased subsidy as well as the change in corn prices. For those who have considered ECO in the past but have been hesitant due to cost, now is a great opportunity to see how this additional coverage can benefit your operation in the coming year.

How can ECO be purchased? 

If you are interested in obtaining ECO coverage, the first step is to reach out to your GreenStone crop insurance specialist to evaluate what coverage would benefit your operation most. To obtain an ECO policy, you will need an underlying buy-up policy for corn or soybeans. Our team of dedicated crop insurance specialists can help you understand your area’s historical analysis by looking at your county’s ECO performance over the past years.  

Our exclusive quoting tool can also help give you the information you need to make data driven decisions that will positively impact your business.

If you have questions on ECO crop insurance options and whether it would be a good fit for your farm, don’t hesitate to reach out to your local branch!