Frequently Asked Questions about Row Crop Insurance
Supporting agriculture and local communities has been GreenStone’s mission for over 100 years. Our dedicated team of row crop insurance specialists have ag-specific knowledge of the risks your business faces, ensuring sound advice and guidance are available when you need it most.
We offer a broad array of risk management options from multiple industry providers, including multi-peril, hail, whole farm revenue protection and margin protection policies. Additionally, our proprietary Optimum tool ensures your risk management selections are tailored to your operation’s unique needs and budget, helping you to achieve optimal coverage at the most affordable cost.
Our team of specialists have a combined 350 years of crop insurance experience, and in that time they’ve heard a lot of questions from our producers. Below we’re sharing a handy list of the most frequently-asked crop insurance questions.
What does crop insurance cover?
Crop insurance covers financial risk due to loss of yield caused by weather or other environmental conditions, and/or the loss of revenue due to declines in agricultural commodity prices.
What is hail insurance?
Hail insurance is a risk management policy which covers hail damage to crops. It can be purchased separately or in addition to your usual multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI) policy. Coverage includes damage from hail, fire and lightning, transit coverage (to first destination if overturns), fire department service charge, vandalism and green snap (if this endorsement is selected). Hail insurance is available on most crops in most counties.
Is hail damage covered under a revenue and/or yield protection policy?
Yes, hail damage is a covered peril. You can receive an indemnity if you suffer a yield loss below your bushel guarantee.
Does Revenue Protection include Yield Protection?
Yield Protection insures against yield losses, while Revenue Protection insures against revenue declines, providing protection in the event yields are normal, but prices decline. Revenue Protection includes a bushel guarantee similar to Yield Protection, while also protecting you against a decline in revenue due to declining prices and/or yield losses.
Can I insure each field individually on my revenue or yield protection policy?
No. You can insure each section individually, but you cannot break it down to the field level.
How is the compensation for a loss calculated for a revenue and yield policy?
CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) December Corn futures price and November soybeans futures price through the month of February are used to determine the projected price. The prices are the same for every producer in the state who purchases crop insurance. The price at which you sell your grain for at the elevator does not matter.
How much will I be compensated if I cannot get a crop planted?
In the event of a prevented plant claim, you will be compensated 55% of your guarantee on corn and 60% of your guarantee on soybeans. Additional prevent plant coverage, which will compensate for a higher percentage, can be purchased.
What is SCO?
Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) is a county policy that can be stacked on top of your underlying revenue or yield protection coverage. It adds coverage to the base policy up to 86% of crop value. The stacked SCO policy provides area-based coverage.
What is ECO?
Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) is a new multiple peril crop insurance (MPCI) option that provides area-based coverage for a portion of your underlying policy’s deductible in a manner similar to the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO). It uses the same expected and final area yields, projected and harvest prices, and payment factors as SCO, but covers a band from 86% (where SCO coverage triggers) up to 90 or 95% of expected crop value. Like SCO, ECO is based on your underlying crop insurance policy.
When is payment due for MPCI purchased on March 15?
You must report to your crop insurance specialist what you planted in the spring by July 15. Premiums will then be generated for your policy by August 15. Premium bills will be sent out on August 15 and are due by September 30.
Can I insure only my non-irrigated crops?
No. If you insure your non-irrigated crop in the county, then you must insure the irrigated crops in that same county as well. However, you can select different coverage levels for the irrigated vs non-irrigated crops, and you can make separate claims on each crop.
Does the revenue protection policy pay if I sell my crops below the insurance price?
Not necessarily. With a revenue protection policy, the price at which you personally sell your crop does not matter. A combination of the projected price, harvest price and yield is used to determine if a payment will be made. (Refer to the question “How is the compensation for a loss calculated for a revenue and yield policy?” for further details.)
Will crop insurance provide a higher claim compensation price for organic crops?
Yes, if you have an organic certification.
How much of my yield can I insure?
You can insure 50% - 85% of your average yield history on an individual revenue protection plan. Additional coverage, such as ECO or certain private products can insure above an 85% level.
If you have questions not listed above, or if you’re ready to optimize your crop insurance coverage with the region’s fastest-growing crop insurance provider, please contact your local crop insurance specialist at 800-444-3276 or go to https://www.greenstonefcs.com/why-greenstone/our-locations.
GreenStone Farm Credit Services is an equal opportunity provider. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices and employees and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs).