Crop Insurance Releases Report

Sixteen different crop insurance companies collaborated on a report detailing how the industry combats fruad, waste and abuse in the crop insurance program. The report also makes recommendations to the Risk Management Agency as it begins to implement the anti-fraud section of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000.

In the report, the industry details its trining and quality assurance programs. In 1999, over 260,000 hours of training were provided to agents and loss adjusters by the industry. The industry also conducted nearly 100,000 reviews of agents, adjusters, policied, and claims in 1999. This is well above the standard in other lines of insurance. For example, in auto insurance, many claims are handled entirely by phone; no company adjuster inspects the damage to verify that it was insurable. In constrast, in a crop insurance matter, an adjuster handles almost every claim, and one out of ten of these claims were reviewed for accuracy and eligibility in 1999.

The report also describes each provision of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 that expands or strengthens anti-fraud authorities of the Risk Management Agency. As these provisions are implemented, the industry recommends that the government work with its program deliverers to ensure that the intent of Congress is realized. The report recommends that as a first step the inustry and the government work proactively together to implement the statute.

Click here for the full report.