Crop Insurance Claims Test System

Once you finalize the paperwork for your crop insurance claim, it should
take about 30 days to get your check. The key word is should.
“Given the number of claims that will occur this year, we will test the
system in ways it has not been tested, however,” says Keith Coble, ag
economist at Mississippi State University and crop insurance expert.
“Companies can process claims much more quickly than in the past, but
we have not had such widespread losses in years.”
If your payment is delayed through no fault of your own, the insurance
company has to pay you interest beginning on the 61st day after your claim
has been finalized—a strong incentive to make good on claims, and quick.
Given the expected record number of claims this year, however, when
can you expect to receive your money? One insurance company says the
timing on payments will vary by region and whether it’s awash in claims.
Another insurance company official says there could be a five-month
window for payments, October 2012 through February 2013, depending in
large part on when claims are filed, finalized and turned in.
That sounds worse than it actually is. Harvest is likely to take five months
to complete in some places. That alone will go a long way toward ensuring
producers receive their indemnity checks in a timely manner, says Kevin
Johnson, sales manager of Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of
Iowa. “No company can be staffed for a year like this, however,” he adds.
Producers who have revenue coverage—particularly livestock producers
who have to buy feed they normally grow—have some options,
depending on the type of policy. For example, they can file claims by production
unit as they harvest—unless their entire farm is tallied as one unit.