The Risk Management Agency (RMA) is responsible for rating crop insurance in an actuarially sound way. Unlike private insurance companies, RMA is not driven by profit when determining rates. Premium rates do not include the cost of sales, underwriting, loss adjustments, or the operating costs of RMA. Legislative language instructs that “the amount of the premium shall be sufficient to cover anticipated losses and a reasonable reserve[1].” RMA considers actual production history in the rating process, and rates are established independently of crop and geographic region. The loss experience of rice is not a factor when developing a premium rate for corn. Likewise, the loss experience of corn in Mississippi is not a factor when developing a premium rate for corn in Illinois.
The politics of crop insurance comes into play with the premium subsidy percentage amounts set by policy. Subsidy percentages are equitable across all crops, though, with each crop receiving the same subsidy percentage dependent on coverage level and unit choice. Total acres insured, coverage level, and premium rates all factor into the total amount of subsidies received by a crop. As seen in Figure 1., corn has received a total of $24.6 billion of crop insurance subsidies in the past decade, followed by soybeans at $14.9 billion. Rice and peanuts have total subsidy amounts of $617 million and $424 million, respectively, over the past decade. [READ MORE]