Avoid These 5 Common Crop Insurance Mistakes

Crop insurance can save your farm and your business in the event of a disaster, severe weather, or transportation issue. However, getting the correct coverage for your crops and filing your claim in the correct way is vital to getting the payment that you need and deserve.

5 Common Crop Insurance Mistakes

1. Missing important deadlines for filing information. Unlike many other types of insurance, it is important to meet several deadlines, including the deadline to apply for your type of crop coverage, the deadline to report your planting, the deadline to report your acreage, and the deadline for filing a crop damage claim.
2. Over- or underreporting your plant acreage per unit. When calculating your indemnity payment, your insurer uses how many acres you planted as well as your yield. If you over or under-report your acreage, this calculation will not be accurate and you will not get the payment you need or deserve.
3. Incorrectly reporting farm serial numbers (FSNs). If you do not report all Farm Serial Numbers related to the crops you plant, all unreported FSNs will not receive coverage in the event of damaged or destroyed crops. Also be sure to report your production information related to all FSNs, and at the correct time after your planting date.
4. Selecting the wrong status. New producers have an advantage: adjusters use a different formula to calculate your indemnity payment that does not use the total yield of the county. However, if you are a new producer and do not state that, or if you have added land and do not state that, you will not receive that advantage and your payment will likely be lower than it should be.
5. Harvesting the crop in a different way than how it was insured. Unfortunately, it is not enough to buy a crop insurance policy and provide your insurer with all of the correct information. You must also harvest the crop in the same way you describe in your contract.

To learn more crop insurance basics, visit the United States Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency.

If you’re wanting answers to more questions, call the experienced team at The Voss Law Firm:  888-614-7730. We offer a free consultation with a knowledgeable attorney.