Multi-Peril Crop Insurance Also known as MPCI or “Buy-Up” coverage. With this coverage the farmer selects the amount of average yield he or she wishes to insure, from 50% to 85%. The farmer also selects the percent of the predicted price he or she wants to insure; between 55% and 100% of the crop price established annually by RMA. If the harvest is less than the yield insured, the farmer is paid an indemnity based on the difference. Indemnities are calculated by multiplying this difference by the insured percentage of the established price selected when the crop insurance was purchased. This type of coverage protects most crops from nearly all natural disasters and unavoidable damage from insects and disease. As you know, the government subsidizes the premium for crop insurance. In recent years, the subsidy has increased making your cost as a producer more affordable.

Crop Revenue & Revenue Assurance, CRC and RA protect against lost revenue caused by low yield, low price or a combination of both. An alternative to MPCI, CRC / RA provide a minimum dollar guarantee that will increase if harvest prices are high. Dollar guarantees are calculated using regional Board of Trade’s early future prices. If the near harvest time futures price exceeds the early price, producers are provided additional protection. CRC and RA are available on certain crops in selected states and counties.   

Group Risk Plan (GRP).  When farmers thoughout your county face yield losses, chances are you face losses too.  So, unlike crop insurance policies written based on your actual yields, Group Risk Plan coverage is based on an expected county yield for insured crops.  The expected county yield is calculated annually, using years of data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).  You select a coverage level and a dollar amount of insurance per acre.  You don't need to supply information about your own average yields, just the number of acres you're planting, your share in the crop, and which crops are being planted.  A "trigger yield" is calculated for your policy by multiplying the average county yield by the coverage level you select (from 70% to 90% of expected county yield).  Should the average county yield fall below this trigger yield, you may be eligible for a loss payment.  Indemnity payments are made after the announcement of the NASS county yield, which is generally several months after the harvest of the crop.

Group Risk Income Protection (GRIP) coverage is similar to GRP in that it's based on countywide losses.  The difference is that GRIP protects you from a potential loss in revenue resulting from a significant reduction in yields or prices of a specific crop in your county.  Instead of the "trigger yield" used for GRP policies, GRIP policies are based on an establised "trigger revenue," also calculated from countywide statistics.  If you purchase a GRIP policy and the average revenue for your county falls below your "trigger revenue," you may be eligible for a losss payment.  Purchasing the GRIP Harvest Revenue Option allows the ability to increase the revenue guarantee in the event prices increase in the fall. 

Pasture, Rangeland and Forage Rainfall Index Insurance (PRF) is availible in select North Dakota counties and all counties in Montana.  This plan of insurance protects you from a lack of normal rainfall.  This is currently a pilot program that we have been working with for the past two years.