Crop Insurance claim update

• Deferral of interest on paying your 2012 crop insurance premium:  PLEASE NOTE—IF NOT PAID IN FULL BY NOVEMBER 1, THE INTEREST WILL ACCRUE BACK TO SEPTEMBER 1.  THERE IS NOT FORGIVENESS FOR THE EXTRA MONTH TO PAY UNLESS IT IS PAID IN FULL.  A POSTMARK OF OCTOBER 31 WILL COUNT, BUT BE SURE YOUR LOCAL POST OFFICE DOES THE CANCELLATION!  You should have your bill not later than August 31.
• Please call when you begin harvest so I can turn in a notice of loss.  I will turn in corn and beans unless you tell me otherwise.  The rule is the claim must be made within 72 hours of harvest completion PER UNIT.  Those on other than enterprise units that means by the field.  By turning it in when you start, it is done for all fields and helps the insurance companies in organizing the work flow. 
• When you turn in your notice of loss, tell me if you want money in 2012 or 2013.  I can note that and they won’t work the claims for 2013 until January.  If it is worked in 2012, the money must be paid within 30 days of acceptance.  I provided some tax related articles about deferring the proceeds earlier.  We have posted them to our website if you need to see them again.
• Bin measurement for carried over grain.  I would be a bit surprised if there is any old grain in bins, but if there is, be sure to call 7-10 days before harvest so we can have the bins measured.  I am enclosing information regarding bin measurement and other harvest/production related procedures that will allow you to do this yourself.  However, given the year, you may prefer to have the claims adjusters do the bin marking.
• Aflatoxin in the bin will cancel any and all insurance claims.  I have heard no reports of aflatoxin in this area, however, if you have it and you store the grain on the farm, your MPCI policy provides NO coverage.  If you have any concern, we have posted some information on our website.  You can also talk with your grain merchandiser.  They will likely be able to do a black light test for you—if called for; you would then have to send a sample to a federal lab for testing.  The black light picks up many molds and is not a definitive test for aflatoxin.
• High dollar claims.  We have turned in high dollar claims (over $200,000 per crop per county) and you should have been contacted by the claims team.  If not, call me.  As you gather information for the potential audit of your production history, we are allowed to scan and e-mail the information for you to the claims team.

There are a couple of items to note for 2013.

• There will be an “anti-rebating disclosure” the insured and the agent must sign on at least the 2013 acreage report.  A copy is on our website.
• The wheat sales closing date is September 30.  The “trend adjusted yield” program has been extended to wheat contracts.  I will be contacting those with wheat contracts to execute new contracts. 
• Most “husband and wife” crop insurance contracts are called “spousal.”  As of now, the spouse cannot sign any documents, including claims, unless there is a power of attorney on file.  We will be working to add this document to your files in the coming months.

As always, call anytime you have a question or concern.

Sincerely,
Steve Francis