Crop insurance audits: How to prepare

Excessive rain paired with less than ideal market conditions can lead to many farmers relying on the Federal Crop Insurance Program to soften the blow of a rough growing season. However, producers relying on this program should be prepared for a potential crop insurance audit.

Higher crop insurance claims can trigger the Risk Management Agency’s crop insurance “indemnity review,” often referred to as a crop insurance audit. Producers with crop insurance claims over $200,000 will be subject to the mandated indemnity review.

To help producers prepare for these audits, the National Agricultural Law Center partnered with Peggy Kirk Hall and Chris Zoller from Ohio State University Extension to publish “Preparing for a Crop Insurance Audit.”

In this bulletin, the authors provide general information to help producers know if they should expect an audit and what to expect if one occurs. The bulletin addresses topics such as who conducts audits, requirements for the audits, timelines and much more.

“With the season we’ve had, crop insurance audits can be expected,” Hall said. “The purpose of this publication is to help producers navigate these audits and come prepared.”

“Preparing for a Crop Insurance Audit” can be accessed at http://bit.ly/2TfqfGb.