Crop Insurance Discount Moratorium Eliminates Opportunity For up to $120 Million Annual Savings for America’s Farmers

Premium Reduction ProgramWest Des Moines, Iowa – (AgNewsWire) On May 23 the House of Representatives voted to extend the 2007 moratorium on the USDA’s Premium Reduction Program through the 2008 crop season. The Premium Reduction Program (PRP) was authorized in the Federal Crop Insurance Act of 1994 in order to allow farmers the opportunity to benefit when insurance companies are able to reduce their administrative and operating costs.

“This discount plan has been working since 2003, and has proven its value by returning more than $4 million to farmers,” said Bruce Trost, executive vice president of property-casualty companies of FBL Financial Group, Inc., West Des Moines, Iowa. “The federal crop insurance program should benefit farmers. If proven innovative products like this are waylaid by the will of Congress, there will be no incentive for the development of new products to benefit farmers.” (Full Release)