Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced additional assistance from the USDA to help producers impacted by Hurricane Helene in the recovery process.
The USDA named counties that have triggered for payment under the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index endorsement for Hurricane Helene; as a result, approved insurance providers have 30 days to issue payments to producers, though they typically issue payments sooner, according to a news release.
USDA’s Risk Management Agency first offered the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index endorsement for the 2020 hurricane season, and last year the endorsement was expanded to include the Tropical Storm Option. Under both, producers with the endorsement will receive over $233 million in indemnities for hurricane-related losses from Hurricane Helene, intended to directly help farmers and rural communities recover, the release said.
“Several states across the southeast experienced devastating damages from Hurricane Helene, which caused significant destruction right before the fall harvest season,” Vilsack said in the release. “The Biden-Harris administration and USDA will support farmers through the recovery process for the long haul, and this includes today’s step of making innovative types of coverage available and getting funds into the hands of producers quickly.”
Currently, Hurricane Helene estimated indemnities for both the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index endorsement and the Tropical Storm Option by state include:
- Alabama — $5 million.
- Florida — $12.8 million.
- Georgia — $207.7 million.
- North Carolina — $4.1 million.
- South Carolina — $4.1 million.
- Virginia — $61,000.
These payments are in addition to the estimated $58 million paid for Hurricane Beryl, the $214 million paid for Hurricane Debby and the $128 million paid for Hurricane Francine, which hit the Gulf Coast and Southeastern states in July, August and September respectively, according to the release. In total, over $630 million in payments have been issued under the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index endorsement and the Tropical Storm Option in 2024, USDA said.
The USDA said it continues to look at every avenue to accelerate assistance and get resources to the people that need them most. This includes putting into place contingency plans and program flexibilities to support farmers, foresters and rural communities. A full list of USDA Farm Service Agency disaster assistance programs is available on the hurricane webpage of farmers.gov.
The USDA said it has 215 responders engaged in immediate response and recovery efforts, with incident management teams deployed in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, conducting work such as clearing trees and debris. These teams are also supporting FEMA’s national response efforts, including daily assessments and logistical coordination from Washington, D.C., the release said. The USDA added that it is also adjusting internal staff to support producers in hurricane-stricken states and provide FSA jump teams.
Emergency procedures
Due to the catastrophic damage that Hurricane Helene caused in the Southeast as well as the continuing impacts from Hurricane Debby, the USDA RMA authorized emergency procedures to help producers with hurricane-related losses.
RMA is working with crop insurance companies to streamline and accelerate the adjustment of losses and issuance of indemnity payments to crop insurance policyholders in impacted areas, the release said.
Emergency procedures will help streamline paperwork and reduce the number of required representative samples when damage is consistent, and these flexibilities will reduce burdens on both insurance companies and producers, USDA said.
RMA’s emergency procedure flexibilities apply to all counties in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia impacted by Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Debby. Additional information on these emergency procedures is available on RMA’s Hurricanes Helene and Debby webpage.
