Insurance pros can help agribusinesses bypass political noise
The best way for an insurance specialist to service the crop insurance market is to sit and talk with its policyholders.
Consumer groups that take aim at insurers sometimes lob the criticism that policies are just too complicated.
Insurance is complex, to be sure. That’s why the best way for an individual or business to feel secure about their protection is to work with an agent or broker who knows the ins and outs of that policyholder’s insurance needs.
The demand for specialization within insurance is especially pronounced when you consider crop insurance, as I did for the April/May issue of NU Property & Casualty magazine. I found myself in awe of the brokers who navigate these coverages as they must understand agribusinesses as well as the politics at play since crop insurance in the United States is subsidized by the federal government.
It’s hard to underestimate the weight of this work: Agriculture accounts for more than 46 million jobs and $2.61 trillion in wages in the U.S., according to Farm Journal, not to mention the fact that farm prosperity is directly tied to food security. It follows that the country’s hunger safety net, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is part of the same legislation that regulates crop insurance. Legislators wager that placing these seemingly disparate causes together within the same bill bridges the gap between rural and urban interests and ultimately supports the country’s food supply.
Those are heady issues for farmers and their insurance partners to consider. So I was doubly impressed as I talked to people about crop coverages and the service-oriented nature of this particular type of insurance work. Agents and brokers who support agribusinesses not only must have a handle on the regulatory and financial issues at play in this market, they also really need to know the crops their clients are growing as well as the infrastructure and staffing demands on those farm operations in order to accurately access risks.
The issues may be national, but the work is highly local. “This is a coffee-shop sale,” one broker told me, meaning the best way for an insurance pro to work in crop insurance is to sit and talk with farmers; listen, learn and ultimately forge an airtight collaboration that takes into consideration a myriad of details involved in farming.
Knowing this sheds new light on the federal-level finagling that happens around the U.S. Farm Bill, a renewable, omnibus law that covers a variety of topics including crop insurance subsidies. In an ideal world, funding for food security would avoid controversy, because the need for each of us to have access to adequate, affordable nutrition is undeniable. But in reality, getting a new Farm Bill passed later this year may be among the most difficult tasks undertaken by federal legislators, with one side of the aisle pronouncing its stance in support of farmers and other rural constituents while the other side looks to safeguard nutrition and public health concerns that tend to light a fire in the bellies of urban constituents.
Herein lies an opportunity for insurance professionals. Farmers and other agribusinesses (including cannabis and hemp producers) did not likely get into their work to navigate politics. So this is where agents and brokers can help them rise above legislative noise by having honest conversations about crop risk and the available coverages to help them mitigate those risks.
Elsewhere in the April/May issue of NU Property & Casualty magazine, you can read about the insurance and liability issues revealed by the recent train derailments in Ohio. Our columnists also take up such topics as the “quiet quitting” trend, evolving best practices for using social media to market and grow your business, and the employment practices liability concerns that arise when a company is forced to downsize.
As always, our magazine illustrates the pivotal role that insurance plays in a well-functioning society.
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