Federal Crop Insurance: Elements & Proposals

For many farmers, crop insurance is the most important component of the farm safety net, given the breadth of commodity coverage and capability to reimburse producers for crop losses. The federal crop insurance program began in 1938 when Congress authorized the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. The current program provides producers with risk management tools to address crop yield and/or revenue losses on their farms. In purchasing a policy, a producer growing an insurable crop selects a level of coverage and pays a portion of the premium, or none of it in the case of catastrophic coverage, which increases as the level of coverage rises. The federal government pays the rest of the premium. Insurance policies are sold and completely serviced through 15 approved private insurance companies. This book provides an overview of the federal crop insurance program and discusses related issues.