The agents at Beekeeping Insurance Services specialize in working with beekeepers to maximize their use of the federal programs available.

The USDA Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Apiculture Insurance Program (API) is designed to provide insurance coverage for your colonies. When you sign up for coverage under this program, you are protected against losses due to lack of rain. Payment for losses are determined based on the Rainfall Index, which is a comprehensive dataset of precipitation amounts throughout the country. Because indemnity is not calculated based on actual crop production, claims may be automatically processed without the need for adjusters.

Participation in this program is very simple. With the help of a Trusted Risk Advisor, you will choose the eligible grids in which your eligible colonies are placed. You then choose two or more separate index intervals during which precipitation is important to your operation. For each grid you have elected to cover, actual precipitation amounts are compared to the trigger grid indices. If any of the grids had rainfall less than the trigger index, you may receive an indemnity.

Definitions

Rainfall Index – Rainfall data collected from the NOAA CPC are organized by grid to form the Rainfall Index.

Grid – A set of ¼° latitude × ¼° longitude regions used by the Rainfall Index as the unit area. Near the equator, this is about 17 mi². Grid Locator Map

NOAA Climate Prediction Center – Government organization responsible for gathering, recording, publishing and predicting climate around the country and around the world. More information can be found on the CPC website.

Index Interval – Two-month period of time during the crop year. These intervals are used to determine your premium payment amount and the amount of indemnity payment disbursed to you.

Trigger Grid Index – This is the predicted rainfall amount for a given grid during a particular index interval.