The 2013 CIPA Fall Membership Meeting held in Charleston, South Carolina was a great success. The meeting was attended by a record number of agents, AIP representatives, industry leaders and guests. Speakers at the General Session included RMA Administrator Brandon Willis, David Wasserman with The Cook Political Report, Jim Wiesemeyer with Informa Economics, Phillip Hayes with Northbridge Communications, Tom Zacharias with National Crop Insurance Services, House and Senate Agriculture Committee staff, and South Carolina producers.

In a series of one-sided articles published this week, Bloomberg News took direct aim at crop insurance. While it is disappointing to see reporters basically regurgitate EWG talking points and treat them as fact, we have seen these arguments from the critics before. We’ve beaten them back in the past and will beat them again. National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) and Farm Policy Facts did nice jobs issuing rebuttals to the articles. The articles and responses are linked to below. 

Crop Insurance Professionals Association signed two letters this week that were circulated on Capitol Hill. The first letter CIPA signed alongside 194 other commodity and crop insurance organizations advocates Members of the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the Farm Bill passed out of the House Committee on Agriculture. CIPA also signed a letter requesting Congressmen to oppose all amendments to the Farm Bill that will be harmful to crop insurance.

CIPA signed on to a letter expressing support for crop insurance and opposition to any action that would “discourage producer participation or undermine private sector delivery.” The letter was sent to every Senator and Representative in Congress. Alongside CIPA, a strong showing of commodity groups – over 40 total – signed on to the letter proving broad support of Federal Crop Insurance.

 

Read the letter sent to the House and Senate.

National Crop Insurance Services released an outstanding video featuring farmers, agents, and adjusters all reacting to the critics’ claims that “farmers are praying for a drought” so they can collect on crop insurance, and that they are “laughing all the way to the bank.” Farm Policy Facts (FPF) is helping circulate the video and press release. Please help circulate the video to your farmer clients, fellow agents, family and friends.

Another successful membership meeting is in the books. CIPA members met Monday afternoon in Indian Wells, California in conjunction with the Annual Industry Convention. The meeting was led off by Tom Sell of Combest, Sell & Associates who gave a Washington D.C. report. Following Tom’s presentation, Brandon Willis, Acting Administrator of RMA, hosted a roundtable discussion with CIPA members to discuss future challenges and opportunities for Federal Crop Insurance.

 

For information on joining CIPA, please visit the membership page or contact us at 202.544.5873.

Thinking about joining Crop Insurance Professionals Association?

 

CIPA represents independent crop insurance agents from across the country on legislative and regulatory affairs in Washington D.C., in addition to providing a forum for the top agents in the nation to network with each other and exchange information and ideas. CIPA members are kept up-to-date on the latest issues facing crop insurance by the leadership team, which is led by Larry Combest, former Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and principle author of the 2000 Ag Risk Protection Act (ARPA) and the 2002 Farm Bill.

 

You can learn more and apply for membership here on our website. You may also refer to our membership factsheet for more information.

Recently all CIPA Supporting Members received the biannual newsletter, CIPA Standard, a 6-page formatted document containing CIPA news and activities reports, a fall farm bill prognostication and update, and CIPA PAC information. To receive your copy of CIPA Standard, please join CIPA as a Supporting Member for the nominal annual fee of $10.

 

Supporting Membership is for anyone whose livelihoods are affected by crop insurance. In addition to receiving the newsletter, Supporting Members are granted access to additional resources on the website and allowed to contribute to the CIPA PAC.

 

Please feel free to contact us at 202.544.5873 with any questions.

A Letter to the Editor by CIPA Board Member, Jason Williamson of Payne, Ohio, was recently published in the New York Times in response to an editorial the newspaper ran titled, "Drought and the Farm Bills." Among other things, the article claimed crop insurance “guaranteed profits” for farmers. You can read Jason’s response below:

 

To the Editor:

 

Your July 25 editorial “Drought and the Farm Bills” implies that farmers are somehow purchasing crop insurance policies as a way to get rich. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Crop insurance has become the chief risk management tool for farmers for one simple reason: It works. Farmers purchase policies and can receive claims only for documented losses.

 

As you noted, most of the United States is locked in a severe drought this year. Crop losses may be deep, and no crop insurance indemnity will be enough to make any of these farmers whole again. The indemnity will allow those who purchased policies to get back on their feet and farm yet another day.

 

Do you think that drivers who purchase car insurance are secretly hoping for a car wreck to get a check from the insurance company? It’s an absurd idea. You purchase insurance for protection, not to make a buck.

 

As a crop insurance agent, I can tell you that there is nothing farmers want more than a bountiful harvest. But if Mother Nature does not cooperate, and it looks as if she won’t this year, farmers will need crop insurance as a backup plan.

 

JASON WILLIAMSON

Payne, Ohio, July 27, 2012

 

After the release of the House farm bill last week, CIPA joined with Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (Big I), and the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) in sending a letter to Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) expressing support for the bill. In the letter CIPA commends Mr. Lucas and Mr. Peterson for constructing a “bipartisan farm bill that honors the request of producers to do no harm to Federal Crop Insurance.” The letter goes on to express support for numerous aspects of the bill. You can read the entire letter here.