Hurricane Insurance Protection – Wind Index (HIP-WI) Endorsement covers a portion of the deductible of the underlying crop insurance policy when the county, or a county adjacent to it, is within the area of sustained hurricane-force winds from a named hurricane that is published by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The coverage provided by HIP-WI can be combined with the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) and the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) when acreage is also insured by a companion policy. It is based on a wind index and is not specific for excess precipitation/flood.

NEW! For additional premium consideration, growers may also elect the Tropical Storm Enhancement on the HIP-WI Endorsement. This additional election is optional and MUST be elected in conjunction with HIP-WI. If elected, the Tropical Storm enhancement will trigger a loss in the same manner as HIP-WI with the following additional two conditions:

  1. A named Tropical Storm must be declared in the trigger county. Wind speeds for the named Tropical Storm must be sustained at 39 mph in the county as declared by NOAA.
  2. The trigger county must also have received a total of 6 or more inches of rainfall over 4 consecutive days beginning the day prior to the Tropical Storm declaration and ending the second day after the Tropical Storm event has been declared by NOAA.

If the two scenarios noted above are declared by NOAA, the county and all contiguous counties will be paid a total of 50% of the HIP-WI liability for the Tropical Storm event. A grower may collect the full HIP-WI indemnity with the Tropical Storm Enhancement as follows:

  1. One Hurricane Event in one season
  2. Two Tropical Storm Events in one season
  3. One Tropical Storm and One Hurricane Event in one season. (50% of the Hurricane Liability will exhaust the policy liability amount)

A grower will never receive more than the total liability dollars of the HIP-WI endorsement.

Availability

  • The HIP-WI Endorsement provides coverage for 70 different crops insured under the Common Crop Insurance Policy (CCIP), Basic Provisions for both Catastrophic (CAT) and additional coverage policies when provided in the actuarial documents. It is available in counties in the vicinity of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, as well as Hawaii.
  • NHC data is used by RMA to determine which counties are eligible for a HIP-WI payment. This includes any county, or adjacent county, where hurricane winds occur, based on a comparison of hurricane paths and hurricane-related indemnities reported to RMA.

Eligibility

  • Coverage Percentage: A factor elected between 1 and 100 percent in whole percent increments, used to determine the HIP amount.
  • Hurricane Coverage Range: The difference between 95 percent (maximum percent of the crop value to be insured) and the higher of the coverage level of your underlying MPCI policy, or the upper end of your SCO coverage range (if SCO coverage applies), or your STAX coverage range (if STAX coverage applies), if applicable, expressed as a whole percentage.
  • The insurance period generally starts the later of the applicable Sales Closing Date or Earliest Planting Date of the crop and ends on the earliest of the end of insurance date or termination date (if there is no end of insurance date for the crop).

Waiting Period

  • The initial year HIP-WI is elected, coverage will not begin until 14 days after the sales closing date. If the underlying crop policy also requires a waiting period, the wait periods will run concurrently. For subsequent years, if you increase your HIP-WI coverage, the increase will not take effect until 14 days after the sales closing date.
  • If a loss event occurs within the 14-day waiting period, HIP-WI coverage will be based on the coverage percentage and coverage range from the previous insured year.

Impact of Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) Election

  • If the underlying policy includes SCO, the HIP amount will not increase if the insured elects the ARC program on some or all the acres insured under SCO.

 

The information contained in this publication is for general purposes only and shall not modify the terms of any insurance policy. Please refer to policy information found in the actuarials for your commodity/plan type.

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