Contact your crop insurance agent

Farmers need to contact crop insurance agent
by Dec. 10, Indiana Farm Bureau says

Harvest is nearing completion in most areas of Indiana, with only the wettest fields remaining. A few corn fields will not be harvested until the ground freezes hard enough to support equipment.

If their harvest has been delayed, farmers with federal crop insurance coverage should contact their crop insurance agents before December 10, the end of the policies’ insurance period, according to Indiana Farm Bureau.

In Indiana, the official “end of the federal crop insurance period” for corn and soybeans is Dec. 10.

“It is important that farmers submit their notice of loss to their crop agent before December 10, 2009,” said Jim Rink, director of farm/crop programs at Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance.

“The ability to manage risk through crop insurance is a valuable tool available to Indiana farmers,” said Indiana Farm Bureau President Don Villwock. “This harvest season has been especially difficult for many Hoosier farmers. Crop insurance is the key to financial stability for farmers, enabling farmers to supply food and fiber to Hoosiers despite severe weather and other uncertainties that impact our business.”

Although Hoosier farmers made progress completing the harvest in many parts of the state, there are pockets where the wet weather conditions are still delaying harvest.
Some important reminders for insured farmers who are facing a delayed harvest:
· Submit a notice of loss with your agent if you have not already done so and request additional time to harvest in order to protect your crop insurance coverage.
· Continue to carry out normal and customary harvesting practices, if possible, utilizing available windows of opportunity.
· Yield-based policies provide coverage for loss of quality (review crop provisions for specifics), reduced yields and revenue losses (if chosen).
· If, for example, you are unable to harvest by the end of the federal crop insurance period due to extreme wet or snowy conditions, your crop insurance company may allow additional time to harvest if:
o You give timely notice of loss to your agent; and,
o It is determined and documented by the insurance company that the delay was due to an insured cause of loss; and,
o You demonstrate that harvest was not possible due to an insured cause of loss; and,
o The delay was not due to an uninsured cause of loss or because you did not have sufficient equipment or manpower to harvest.

When your crop insurance company authorizes additional time to harvest, the end of the insurance period is NOT extended. Rather, you are granted additional time to attempt to harvest the crop in order to settle any loss based on harvested production. Any additional damage to your crop (by an insured cause of loss) during the extension period is covered. Any avoidable production loss will be charged as an appraisal against the guarantee in your policy. Please be aware that if there is significant snow cover, if the crop is under water, or if extreme wet conditions exist, the crop insurance company should not (and is not required to) perform final inspections when conditions make it impossible to obtain appraisals accurately.

Ninety-one percent of the corn crop has been harvested compared to 99 percent last year and 98 percent for the 5-year average. Virtually all of the soybean acreage has been harvested compared with 100 percent this time last year and 99 percent for the 5-year average.

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Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance has served Hoosiers for 75 years. Organized in 1934 by Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., the company has grown to include insurance products for auto, life, home, business and farm. Banking and other financial services and products are also available through its local offices. With a home office in downtown Indianapolis and local offices in all 92 counties, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance serves Hoosiers with more than 480 agents and 1,200 employees living and working throughout the state. The company is the largest writer of farm insurance and the second largest writer of auto and homeowners insurance in the state.