When you enrol in Production Insurance, you are guaranteed a level of production based on the type and level of coverage you choose. A claim may be paid if an insured peril causes your yield to fall below your guaranteed production.
Production Insurance covers you for losses due to
adverse weather, disease, pests, wildlife, or other uncontrollable natural
perils, except for perils excluded in the Contract of Insurance – General Terms and the Commodity-Specific Terms: Grains and
Oilseeds on the Publications page.
Production Insurance coverage for seed corn crops applies only during the period from seeding or planting until harvest. Loss or damage due to storage conditions is not insured. If your farm management practices contribute to a production loss, you may lose some or all of your insurance coverage.
Available coverage
Production Insurance for seed corn offers three types of coverage:
- Production loss coverage provides compensation when your total harvested yield is less than your guaranteed production.
- Salvage benefit covers seed corn that is rejected for quality reasons due to an insured peril.
- Replant coverage helps cover some of your replanting costs if you and your seed company determine that you must replant some or all of your crop due to an insured peril.
If you are in a landlord/sharecropper arrangement, Agricorp will pay a claim under replant coverage to sharecroppers only, unless you make other arrangements with Agricorp when you apply or renew coverage.
Calculating your coverage and claims
Your coverage depends on:
- Your guaranteed production
- Your coverage type
- Your coverage level
- Claim price
Guaranteed production
A claim may be paid if an insured peril causes your yield to fall below your guaranteed production.
Your guaranteed production is the number of bushels per acre you are covered for under the seed corn plan. Guaranteed production is calculated by multiplying the seed company settlement bushels factor by the level of coverage you choose and then by the number of insured acres.
Guaranteed production = (settlement factor x coverage level) × # of acres
Settlement factor
The settlement factor is documented in your contract with your seed company. It is the number of equivalent settlement bushels of commercial grain corn that the seed company will pay you for if you produce an actual yield of 100 per cent of the variety norm.
Variety norm
Variety norms are the probable average yields for each variety of seed corn, expressed in bushels per acre. Depending on the seed corn company, a variety norm is based on either the average actual yield of the variety for up to five years of production or the average yield of all acres of the variety grown in the current year.
Coverage type
You can choose from two types of coverage. The coverage type you choose applies to all varieties of seed corn you grow for all seed companies.
Total production coverage (TPC) provides a single GP on the combined yield of all varieties planted. A high yield of one or more varieties will offset the lower yields of other varieties. If the total yield from all varieties is less than your total GP, a claim may be paid on the difference.
Separate inbred-cross coverage (SIC) provides a separate GP for each variety planted. This ensures that a higher yield of one or more varieties will not offset the lower yields of other varieties. A claim may be paid on a low-yielding variety even if the yield of other varieties is above the variety norm.
Coverage level
When you apply or renew, you choose one coverage level depending on your chosen coverage type. The coverage level you choose applies to all varieties of seed corn you grow for all seed companies. It determines your guaranteed production.
Total Production Coverage options are 80%, 85%, or 90% of your seed company’s settlement factor.
Separate inbred-cross coverage is fixed at 80 per cent of your seed company’s settlement factor.
Claim price
The insurance claim price for seed corn consists of a floating portion that Agricorp derives from a survey of corn prices at Chatham and Hensall between October 21 and November 10 each year. The seed corn company’s price premium per bushel is added to the floating portion to determine the total claim price.
