Grape insurance program changes announced

  • Published: 10/27/2009 4:13:00 PM
    Program enhancements and expansion of the availability of Federal Crop Insurance Corporation’s (FCIC) Grape Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) are now available for the 2010 crop year.
    Several program enhancements are being implemented through new Grape MPCI crop provisions, including: optional units by variety; separate coverage levels (up to 85 percent coverage); separate price election by type with an option to use their contract prices; end of insurance date was extended to Nov. 10 (to accommodate some winery’s requests for longer hang time).
    Current policyholders and uninsured growers must make all of their decisions on crop insurance coverage, especially which crops to insure and which level of coverage to obtain, prior to the sales closing date. Insurance coverage for crops where actuarial documents are not filed in a particular county (i.e. apple, pear, grape, etc.) is potentially available if a request for a “written agreement” is submitted through a producer’s crop insurance agent by the sales closing date and certain qualification requirements are met  Written agreements are not available for pilot programs. 
    RMA also reminds producers of the important link between Federal crop insurance and Farm Service Agency (FSA) Disaster Assistance programs for the 2010 crop year. To maintain eligibility for FSA’s disaster programs, producers must obtain a policy or plan of insurance of at least catastrophic (CAT) level coverage if available. For those crops that are non-insurable, coverage under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program must also be obtained. Producers are encouraged to visit with their local FSA office to ensure they are in compliance with the new linkage requirements. If there is no coverage in a county for a specific crop under the traditional MPCI program; producers may ask a crop insurance agent whether they would be eligible for coverage under a written agreement.
    Producers are encouraged to spend time between now and the applicable sales closing dates, working with their crop insurance agent to learn specific details for the 2010 crop year. FCIC program policies are sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance companies and agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers throughout the United States or on the RMA Web site at www3.rma.usda.gov/tools/agents.

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