States with the highest crop insurance payouts
States with the highest crop insurance payouts
The average American likely knows a thing or two about insurance—if only that their health insurance policy costs them an arm and a leg. Though you might be intimately familiar with the premiums on your car insurance or renter's insurance, odds are you aren't aware of a hugely popular type of insurance in one industry: crop insurance.
Since agriculture is so dependent on the whims of Mother Nature, the industry is extremely susceptible to weather-based damage. One massive storm could decimate an entire season's crops and wipe away a year of revenue—if you don't have crop insurance, that is. Crop insurance protects farmers against the loss of revenue in the case of natural disasters like hail, drought, deep freezes, fires, and floods. It's an easy way for farming operations of all sizes to manage their risk and protect themselves against potential financial disaster. Plus, it's relatively affordable, since the government shares the cost with growers and insurance companies. According to the Rain and Hail Insurance Society, a whopping 87% of all eligible acres in the United States were insured in 2018. That's more than 2 million individual contracts totaling more than $110 billion in protection. In the same year, U.S. crop insurers paid out $6.8 billion to policyholders.
To find out which states had the largest amounts of crop insurance payouts, Stacker consulted Rain and Hail Insurance Society data from 2018. Each of the 50 states was ranked by the highest loss ratio, or the premiums paid to insurers divided by total losses paid to farmers. The average loss ratio across the country was 0.69 in 2018. Read through the list to see how the agriculture industry in your state stacks up and find out which state received $341 million in crop insurance payouts last year.
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#50. Illinois
- Loss ratio: 0.15
- Total losses paid to farmers: $97.8 million (#19 highest among all states)
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $646.7 million (#3 highest among all states)
- Premiums subsidized by government: 57.1% (#7 lowest among all states)
- Insured cropland: 86% of eligible acres (#15 highest among all states)
Corn and soybeans are the two most insured crops in Illinois, the state with the lowest loss ratio in the nation. Though their state had the lowest loss ratio, Illinois farmers paid one of the highest premiums in the country—$646.7 million dollars in premiums in 2018.
#49. Indiana
- Loss ratio: 0.21
- Total losses paid to farmers: $75.1 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $354.2 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 56.4% (#47 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 82% of eligible acres (#21 among all states)
As in Illinois, corn and soybeans were also the top two most insured crops in Indiana. Many farmers also took out insurance contracts on their wheat crops.
#48. Ohio
- Loss ratio: 0.23
- Total losses paid to farmers: $54.7 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $239.3 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 61% (#37 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 77% of eligible acres (#27 among all states)
Corn, soybeans, and wheat were far and away the most popular crops insured in Ohio—each had thousands of crop insurance contracts. Other crops, like popcorn and burley tobacco, were far behind with just a few hundred contracts.
#47. Maine
- Loss ratio: 0.29
- Total losses paid to farmers: $3.1 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $10.9 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 66.3% (#17 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 43% of eligible acres (#48 among all states)
Compared to other states, Maine farmers ensured far fewer acres of cropland. Just 43% of all eligible acres were insured in 2018. That's the 48th lowest in the nation, and far below the national average of 87%.
#46. Connecticut
- Loss ratio: 0.31
- Total losses paid to farmers: $2 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $6.6 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 63.2% (#29 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 69% of eligible acres (#33 among all states)
Connecticut also has a relatively low level of crop insurance protection, with only 69% of eligible acres insured and just $6.6 million in total premiums. Corn, tobacco, and apples were the most insured crops.
#45. Nebraska
- Loss ratio: 0.33
- Total losses paid to farmers: $169.4 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $519 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 58.5% (#41 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 91% of eligible acres (#7 among all states)
Agricultural powerhouse Nebraska insures nearly all of its farmland, with 91% of eligible acres protected by crop insurance. Corn, soybeans, and grain sorghum led the pack.
#44. Washington
- Loss ratio: 0.34
- Total losses paid to farmers: $56.6 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $166.5 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 58.2% (#42 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 90% of eligible acres (#8 among all states)
Washington farmers grow a wide variety of crops, from barley and wheat to apples and cherries to dry peas and canola. Ninety percent of the state's eligible acres were insured in 2018.
#43. Idaho
- Loss ratio: 0.37
- Total losses paid to farmers: $25.2 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $68.6 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 57.7% (#43 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 64% of eligible acres (#38 among all states)
Barley, dry peas, and wheat are the three most widely insured crops in Idaho, a state with a relatively low loss ratio. Slightly less than 65% of the state's eligible acres were insured.
#42. North Dakota
- Loss ratio: 0.37
- Total losses paid to farmers: $327.1 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $879.1 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 68.5% (#7 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 95% of eligible acres (#2 among all states)
Almost all of North Dakota's eligible acres of cropland were insured in 2018—it ranks second in the nation by this metric. Sunflowers, wheat, soybeans, barley, canola, corn, dry peas, and flax were the most prevalent crops.
#41. New York
- Loss ratio: 0.40
- Total losses paid to farmers: $22.5 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $55.7 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 65.8% (#20 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 60% of eligible acres (#41 among all states)
Sixty percent of New York's eligible acres were covered by crop insurance in 2018, ranking it #41 among all states. Corn and soybeans were the most insured crops, though cabbage and barley actually had the highest loss ratios.
#40. Wisconsin
- Loss ratio: 0.41
- Total losses paid to farmers: $86.3 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $210.2 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 66% (#19 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 76% of eligible acres (#28 among all states)
In addition to corn, wheat, and soybeans, Wisconsin farmers also insured a lot of forage seeding and forage production acres in 2018. Wisconsin is also one of the top producers of hay in the country.
#39. Massachusetts
- Loss ratio: 0.44
- Total losses paid to farmers: $1.7 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $3.8 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 64.7% (#25 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 70% of eligible acres (#31 among all states)
This coastal state sees a few more unusual crops covered by insurance, like clams, which had one of the highest loss ratios in 2018. Cranberries, sweet corn, and apples are three of the state's most valuable crops.
#38. South Dakota
- Loss ratio: 0.45
- Total losses paid to farmers: $270.3 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $598.7 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 70.6% (#5 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 97% of eligible acres (#1 among all states)
Agriculture is the #1 industry in South Dakota, according to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, so it makes sense that this state also ranks first in the nation for acres of insured cropland. Nearly all of the state's farms are family owned, with corn, soybeans, and hay topping the charts as the largest crops.
#37. Vermont
- Loss ratio: 0.45
- Total losses paid to farmers: $1.3 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $2.9 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 66.1% (#18 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 81% of eligible acres (#24 among all states)
Vermont farmers producing sweet corn did not have a great year in 2018, as that crop had the highest loss ratio in the state. Hay and corn are by far the largest crops in the state, though specialty products like maple syrup and apples are also valuable parts of the industry.
#36. Iowa
- Loss ratio: 0.51
- Total losses paid to farmers: $320.5 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $625.9 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 53.8% (#50 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 93% of eligible acres (#5 among all states)
Oats and green peas had a tough year in Iowa, raking in the two highest loss ratios in 2018. The state had more than 13 million acres of corn and 10 million acres of soybeans planted in the same year.
#35. Michigan
- Loss ratio: 0.52
- Total losses paid to farmers: $85 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $163.7 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 66.4% (#16 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 70% of eligible acres (#31 among all states)
Michigan's beloved cherry crop didn't do particularly well in 2018, with a loss ratio of 165%. Since the state produces more than 300 different crops, it is one of the most diverse agriculture industries in the nation. Michigan is also the leading producer of cucumbers, dry black beans, squash, asparagus, and tart cherries.
#34. Kansas
- Loss ratio: 0.56
- Total losses paid to farmers: $337.4 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $605.5 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 62.4% (#32 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 87% of eligible acres (#12 among all states)
The Kansas crop with the highest loss ratio in 2018 was dry beans, while the most insured crops were wheat, grain sorghum, corn, and soybeans. Kansas is the leading state in both wheat and grain sorghum production, according to the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
#33. Tennessee
- Loss ratio: 0.56
- Total losses paid to farmers: $51 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $91.6 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 68.1% (#9 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 82% of eligible acres (#21 among all states)
The Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation reports that soybeans are planted on more acres than any other row crop in Tennessee, and the state also ranks fourth in the country for tobacco production. Dark air tobacco also had the highest loss ratio of any crop in 2018.
#32. Pennsylvania
- Loss ratio: 0.57
- Total losses paid to farmers: $31.9 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $56.4 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 67.7% (#11 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 47% of eligible acres (#46 among all states)
Pennsylvania is the leading mushroom producer in the country: The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture reports the state grows more than 425 million pounds of them each year. Some of the state's other crops were not as successful in 2018, however: dark air tobacco, tomatoes, cabbage, and oats had the highest loss ratios.
#31. New Hampshire
- Loss ratio: 0.59
- Total losses paid to farmers: $0.3 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $0.5 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 65.3% (#23 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 60% of eligible acres (#41 among all states)
Though about 60% of the eligible cropland in New Hampshire is insured, farmers paid just half a million in premiums in 2018. That's the third lowest in the country. In addition to crops such as apple and corn, New Hampshire produces plenty of Christmas trees and maple syrup.
#30. Minnesota
- Loss ratio: 0.62
- Total losses paid to farmers: $360.4 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $577.4 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 61.6% (#33 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 94% of eligible acres (#4 among all states)
Ninety four percent of all eligible acres in Minnesota are covered by crop insurance, making it the state with the fourth-highest coverage in the nation. Corn and soybeans are king in this state, though wheat and barley aren't far behind.
#29. Virginia
- Loss ratio: 0.62
- Total losses paid to farmers: $40.4 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $65.2 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 66.4% (#15 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 78% of eligible acres (#25 among all states)
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says the state's agriculture industry generates a cool $70 billion each year and provides more than 334,000 jobs. Cotton, apples, grapes, peanuts, and leaf tobacco are some of the state's most prosperous crops.
#28. Wyoming
- Loss ratio: 0.62
- Total losses paid to farmers: $12.5 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $20.2 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 56.5% (#46 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 88% of eligible acres (#10 among all states)
Like many other western and midwestern states, Wyoming produces grain crops like corn, wheat, and barley. In 2018, dry peas were the loss ratio leader.
#27. Mississippi
- Loss ratio: 0.63
- Total losses paid to farmers: $82.4 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $130 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 72% (#3 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 86% of eligible acres (#15 among all states)
Not only is 29% of Mississippi's workforce employed in agriculture, but the industry also generates $7.72 billion annually, according to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Soybeans, cotton, and corn are the three most valuable crops.
#26. Montana
- Loss ratio: 0.64
- Total losses paid to farmers: $112.2 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $175.3 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 61.4% (#34 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 95% of eligible acres (#2 among all states)
Wheat took up most of the cropland in Montana in 2018. It also had a much lower loss ratio than other crops, such as canola and alfalfa seed.
#25. Missouri
- Loss ratio: 0.66
- Total losses paid to farmers: $255.1 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $383.9 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 65.6% (#22 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 86% of eligible acres (#15 among all states)
Home to more than 95,000 farms, Missouri boasts a thriving $88 billion agriculture industry. The state produces the fourth-largest rice crop in the nation, the fifth-largest of cotton, and the sixth-largest of hay.
#24. California
- Loss ratio: 0.67
- Total losses paid to farmers: $277.7 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $414.7 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 60.8% (#38 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 58% of eligible acres (#44 among all states)
Although California has an extremely productive agriculture industry, just 58% of the cropland in California was insured in 2018. The Golden State's farmland grows more than 400 commodities, produces more than a third of the country's vegetables, and grows two-thirds of the country's fruits and nuts.
#23. Alabama
- Loss ratio: 0.68
- Total losses paid to farmers: $46.1 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $68.2 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 67.8% (#10 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 82% of eligible acres (#21 among all states)
Cotton is Alabama's largest row crop, according to the Alabama Farmers Federation, and had a relatively low loss ratio in 2018. Peaches are another leading crop, and half of the peanuts produced in the U.S. come from one small region of the state.
#22. Maryland
- Loss ratio: 0.69
- Total losses paid to farmers: $20 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $29.1 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 63.8% (#28 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 61% of eligible acres (#40 among all states)
The Maryland State Archives reports that corn, sorghum, and wheat were the three largest cash crops in Maryland in 2018, with tens of millions of bushels produced of each. The total value of these three grains? More than $614 million.
#21. Oregon
- Loss ratio: 0.71
- Total losses paid to farmers: $30.8 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $43.6 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 59% (#40 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 73% of eligible acres (#30 among all states)
Hay, wine grapes, blueberries, and pears were some of Oregon's most valuable crops in 2017. Cabbage had one of the highest loss ratios—a massive 1,468%.
#20. Kentucky
- Loss ratio: 0.74
- Total losses paid to farmers: $107.9 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $145.7 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 64.4% (#26 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 87% of eligible acres (#12 among all states)
Burley tobacco and dark air tobacco had the two highest loss ratios of all Kentucky crops in 2018. The acreage of tobacco crops in Kentucky also continues to decline, spurred on by increasing expenses and stagnant prices.
#19. West Virginia
- Loss ratio: 0.83
- Total losses paid to farmers: $1.8 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $2.1 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 65.6% (#21 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 62% of eligible acres (#39 among all states)
The six farmers who chose to insure their oats with crop insurance in West Virginia in 2018 must have been thankful for those contracts: Oats had the highest loss ratio, at 1,227% that year.
#18. Colorado
- Loss ratio: 0.84
- Total losses paid to farmers: $143.8 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $171.3 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 61% (#36 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 88% of eligible acres (#10 among all states)
Pear and barley crops saw the two highest loss ratios in Colorado in 2018. The agriculture economy adds about $41 billion to the state economy and employs 173,000 people in Colorado, reports the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
#17. Delaware
- Loss ratio: 0.85
- Total losses paid to farmers: $7.7 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $9.1 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 61.2% (#35 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 69% of eligible acres (#33 among all states)
Though Delaware's agriculture industry overall isn't nearly as large as some of the more farming-heavy states, two counties—Kent and Sussex—rank in the top 2% nationally for the most vegetables sold. Not surprisingly, fresh market vegetables are among the biggest crops in Delaware, along with soybeans and corn.
#16. Arkansas
- Loss ratio: 0.90
- Total losses paid to farmers: $120.2 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $133.6 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 69.9% (#6 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 83% of eligible acres (#20 among all states)
Hybrid seed rice had a tough year in Arkansas in 2018—the crop's loss ratio of 562% was the highest of any in the state. In addition to rice, corn, cotton, soybeans, and feed grains are the state's most valuable crops.
#15. New Jersey
- Loss ratio: 0.96
- Total losses paid to farmers: $5.9 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $6.1 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 72.2% (#2 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 68% of eligible acres (#36 among all states)
New Jersey grape farmers had a particularly bad year in 2018, since their crops had a loss ratio of 1,212%. This state also had the second highest level of government-subsidized premiums in 2018.
#14. Louisiana
- Loss ratio: 0.99
- Total losses paid to farmers: $79.4 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $80.2 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 71.2% (#4 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 84% of eligible acres (#19 among all states)
Blueberries and hybrid seed rice had the highest loss ratio of all insured crops in this southern state in 2018. Though rice is one of the state's highest-value crops, blueberries are a relatively small crop.
#13. Oklahoma
- Loss ratio: 1.03
- Total losses paid to farmers: $192.5 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $186 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 66.6% (#14 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 69% of eligible acres (#33 among all states)
The state with the eighth largest amount of farmland, Oklahoma had a relatively high loss ratio compared to the national average. Silage sorghum—or sorghum grown to be stored for animal feed during the winter months—had the highest loss ratio in Oklahoma in 2018.
#12. South Carolina
- Loss ratio: 1.09
- Total losses paid to farmers: $89 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $81.6 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 67.2% (#13 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 92% of eligible acres (#6 among all states)
Processing beans, soybeans, and flue-cured tobacco had the three highest loss ratios of all South Carolina crops in 2018. Since soybeans are one of the state's top 10 commodities, according to the South Carolina Farm Bureau, this represents a sizable loss for South Carolina farmers.
#11. New Mexico
- Loss ratio: 1.11
- Total losses paid to farmers: $56.8 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $51.1 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 59.4% (#39 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 74% of eligible acres (#29 among all states)
Crops such as apples, corn, and dry beans had particularly high loss ratios for New Mexico farmers in 2018, contributing to the state's overall loss ratio of 1.11. Hay, wheat, and sorghum take up most of the farmland in the state.
#10. Arizona
- Loss ratio: 1.14
- Total losses paid to farmers: $150.1 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $131.5 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 55.2% (#48 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 66% of eligible acres (#37 among all states)
Barley, dry beans, lemons, and corn all had loss ratios well above 200% in Arizona in 2018, causing the state's overall loss ratio to spike to the 10th highest in the nation. Arizona also grows quite a bit of lettuce—from head to romaine to leaf—and Yuma, Ariz., is the winter lettuce capital of the world.
#9. Utah
- Loss ratio: 1.17
- Total losses paid to farmers: $16.8 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $14.4 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 56.9% (#45 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 46% of eligible acres (#47 among all states)
A wide variety of crops in Utah—from dry beans to wheat to apiculture, or the cultivation of bees—saw high loss ratios in 2018. The state also has a comparatively low level of insured cropland and government-subsidized premiums.
#8. Alaska
- Loss ratio: 1.21
- Total losses paid to farmers: $96,707
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $79,666
- Premiums subsidized by government: 80.5% (#1 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 87% of eligible acres (#12 among all states)
Though Alaska is by far the largest state in the union, it has very little available farmland: The Alaska State Legislature reports that the U.S. Government owns 90% of the state's land and there were only about 29,000 acres of cropland in 2006. The harsh weather also makes farming a difficult lifestyle. Because so few crops are insured, one high loss ratio—like the 345% loss ratio of forage in 2018—can cause Alaska's overall losses to spike drastically.
#7. Rhode Island
- Loss ratio: 1.21
- Total losses paid to farmers: $128,459
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $105,825
- Premiums subsidized by government: 67.5% (#12 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 59% of eligible acres (#43 among all states)
Rhode Island also has a relatively small agriculture industry: just 60,000 acres were devoted to farming in 2018. Potatoes had an incredibly high loss ratio in 2018 at 1,271%.
#6. Nevada
- Loss ratio: 1.22
- Total losses paid to farmers: $32.8 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $26.8 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 55.2% (#49 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 10% of eligible acres (#50 among all states)
A tiny fraction of Nevada's eligible acres are insured—just 10%—and only slightly more than half of premiums are subsidized. The small amount of insured crops might explain why Nevada had the sixth-highest loss ratio in the country in 2018: a few poorly performing crops, like corn and apiculture (beekeeping), could quickly throw off the ratio.
#5. Texas
- Loss ratio: 1.33
- Total losses paid to farmers: $1,529.3 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $1,153.7 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 68.2% (#8 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 85% of eligible acres (#18 among all states)
Everything's bigger in Texas, including the number of farms and ranches. The Texas Department of Agriculture says the Lone Star State leads the nation with 248,000 covering 130.2 million acres. In 2018, a one-two punch of drought followed by late-season rains threw off the agriculture industry and lead to a high loss ratio overall.
#4. Hawaii
- Loss ratio: 1.34
- Total losses paid to farmers: $1.6 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $1.2 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 62.6% (#31 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 28% of eligible acres (#49 among all states)
Only 28% of Hawaii's eligible cropland was insured in 2018. Specialty crops like coffee beans, papaya, macadamia nuts, and bananas have become major exports, along with former plantation crops like sugarcane.
#3. North Carolina
- Loss ratio: 1.77
- Total losses paid to farmers: $344.5 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $195.1 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 64.8% (#24 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 90% of eligible acres (#8 among all states)
When Hurricane Florence swept through the state, North Carolina farmers and livestock ranchers lost an approximate $1.1 billion in revenue, according to the state Department of Agriculture. Row crops like corn, tobacco, and soybeans made up the vast majority of those losses.
#2. Georgia
- Loss ratio: 1.78
- Total losses paid to farmers: $307.3 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $173.1 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 64.2% (#27 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 78% of eligible acres (#25 among all states)
Though Hurricane Michael's impact on Georgia wasn't as severe as the devastation in Florida, it wreaked havoc on farms in southwest part of the state. The winds drove the fibers of the cotton crop into the soil and damaged both the pecan harvest and the trees themselves, leading Georgia to rack up the second-highest loss ratio in the country.
#1. Florida
- Loss ratio: 2.90
- Total losses paid to farmers: $341 million
- Total premiums paid by farmers: $117.6 million
- Premiums subsidized by government: 62.7% (#30 among all states)
- Insured cropland: 51% of eligible acres (#45 among all states)
Florida's extremely high loss ratio can be chalked up to the high level of damage to all kinds of crops caused by Hurricane Michael. In October 2018, economists at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at University of Florida called the devastating Category 4 storm the most serious natural disaster to hit the Panhandle in decades and estimated it caused $158 million in crop damage alone.
