Getting Prepared For Crop Insurance Claims

It’s already been a busy year for crop insurance agents and it will continue as growers assess yield damage in Indiana. Jason Alexander, VP of Crop Insurance for Farm Credit Mid-America, says they’re encouraging growers to have ongoing and timely communication with their agents and adjusters.

“Make sure you communicate with your crop insurance specialist and adjuster once that claim is filed. Make sure you talk to the adjuster; if it’s any question you have, anything that pops up out of the ordinary, don’t wait.”

Alexander says urgency will help not only with this year’s balance sheet, but next year’s as well.

“If you can sit down and talk through how this affects you this year from a profitability standpoint, how does it affect the balance sheet. Not just a specific claim, but looking at it long-term. That’s where we feel like we’re really able to help people because we have a crop insurance specialist and a loan officer working together to help you with the long-term outlook of how a year like this will affect you.”

With the new Farm Bill, Alexander says crop insurance is now the pillar of your risk management strategy.

“With the Farm Bill changes, it continues to get more complicated and you have to stay on top of it.”

At of the end of July, Alexander says over half of Farm Credit’s policies already have a claim entered.