The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is authorizing emergency procedures to better assist agricultural producers with crop insurance in North Carolina and Virginia who were impacted by Hurricane Ian. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is enabling crop insurance companies to accept later notices of loss and streamlining the loss adjustment process to expedite indemnity payments.
“Crop insurance and other USDA risk management options are there to help producers manage risk because we never know what nature has in store for the future. These program flexibilities allow impacted producers much-needed time to assess agricultural damages and losses while tending to the many competing priorities in their post-hurricane lives,” said Alexander Serrano, Director of RMA’s Raleigh Regional Office that covers North Carolina and Virginia. “The crop insurance companies, loss adjusters and agents are experienced and well trained in handling these types of events.”
Specifically, RMA is authorizing insurance companies to:
- Accept delayed notices of loss because of destroyed communication infrastructure, inability to travel or return after evacuation.
- Use reported acres as determined acres.
- Waive appraisals in situations where the crop will not be harvested due to extensive hurricane damage.
- Settle claims prior to destruction of the crops when the edible portion of an insured crop has been exposed to floodwaters.
- Use emergency procedures to account for tobacco that is destroyed during the curing process due to loss of power from Hurricane Ian
“Policyholders should contact their crop insurance agent as soon as possible any time crop damage is suspected that may adversely affect yield or crop value,” Sereno said. “The crop insurance company will arrange for a loss adjuster to inspect the crop.”
More details are available in an Oct. 11 manager’s bulletin.
Source : usda.gov