What is crop insurance?

Crop insurance can protect farmers if their crops or livestock are harmed by:

  • Extreme weather
  • Fire
  • Insects
  • Plant disease
  • Wildlife
  • Price decline

There is a wide range of insurance policies that you can purchase based on your local risks and the types of crops or livestock that you raise. It is important that you speak with a licensed insurance agent to determine the right type of crop insurance policy for you.

How crop insurance is regulated

There are three main categories of crop insurance policies offered by the federal government and the private insurance market.

Federal crop insurance

Federal crop insurance policies are subsidized by the federal government, meaning that the federal government pays a portion of the monthly insurance premium for policies through the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) regulates the FCIC and they determine the types of policies available and determine their costs.

If you purchased a federally backed policy and disagree with a decision from your insurance provider, you can try to resolve your disagreement with the help of a neutral mediator.

Private crop insurance

Private crop and hail insurance policies are offered by the insurance market and regulated by our office. These policies cover a smaller variety of risks, are offered by a larger number of insurance companies and can be purchased at any time.

If you disagree with a decision made by your insurance provider you can contact our consumer advocacy team or file a complaint online.

Surplus line insurance

Surplus line insurance companies can offer policies for higher-risk or more complicated situations and are not always regulated by our office. These policies can offer great flexibility in coverage and pricing, but due to the risks they cover, they generally have a higher monthly premium.

If you disagree with a decision made by your surplus line insurance provider you can contact our team to learn about your options.

How to purchase crop insurance

You can contact a licensed insurance agent to review the federal, private and surplus line insurance policies available to you, or you can review the list of companies approved to sell federal crop insurance provided by the RMA.