Lubbock, Texas—Congressman Randy Neugebauer unveiled new legislation Monday that creates a crop insurance option for producers that would cover both individual and area yield or revenue losses.  Neugebauer highlighted his proposal at a Lubbock County farm.

   “In my conversations with farmers, they continue to tell me about shortcomings in the crop insurance program,” Neugebauer said.  “After working with producers and insurers, I’m pleased to present this legislation that takes a first step in improving risk management options.”

   The Risk Management Enhancement Act, H.R. 4702, builds additional risk protection into crop insurance by allowing farmers to stack Group Risk Protection (GRP) coverage on top of an individual Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) policy.  Farmers can choose to purchase GRP coverage up to the deductible portion of the individual policy, not to exceed 100 percent.

   “My goal with this legislation is for growers to have more choices as well as more coverage,” Neugebauer said.  “The delivery of this new coverage should be fairly straight-forward as it combines existing insurance products, rather than starting from scratch.”

   This legislation builds more disaster coverage into insurance by allowing producers to stack area-based coverage on their individual policy, giving them more protection against widespread drought and storm losses.  It also increases coverage for a relatively small increase in premium.

   Congress has passed more than $30 billion in emergency assistance packages in recent years to help producers who have suffered substantial crop loss.  The enhanced insurance coverage in Neugebauer’s legislation would help reduce the need for such packages in the future. 

   “Budget constraints and other political roadblocks are making it harder and harder in Congress to pass emergency packages,” Neugebauer said.  “My bill makes growers less dependent on uncertain politics for disaster assistance and allows them to receive more disaster coverage through their risk management choices.”

   Joining Neugebauer at the press conference on Monday were Ed Reynolds, a cotton producer from Lubbock and Rickey Bearden, a cotton producer from Plains.  Ronnie Holt, a crop insurance agent from Muleshoe presented an insurance perspective on the legislation, and Curtis Griffith, chairman of City Bank in Lubbock, discussed the bill from a lender’s perspective.

   “Growers will have another tool to be insured at higher levels so they can withstand the harshness of the West Texas weather,” Bearden said.

   “This legislation would be an excellent foundation that we can build on for better risk management,” Holt said.  “It will be a great benefit to farmers that they don’t have to wait for disaster legislation each year.”