Crop Insurance Today First Quarter 2021 - 16

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2021 Claims Managers
Conference
By Laurie Langstraat, NCIS

More than 340 claims managers and supervisors attended the 2021 NCIS Claims Manager
Conference webinar on January 20-21. With presentations on topics including arbitration, Hemp,
changes to loss handbooks, and new programs,
among others, it is easy to see why companies
invested the time and resources to have their employees participate.
Ironically, the conference began on the same
day as the country welcomed the 46th President of the United States. Tom Zacharias, NCIS
President, in his opening remarks, used that
backdrop to thank outgoing RMA Administrator, Martin Barbre, for his leadership during
what Zacharias said was " characterized by one
of the most difficult periods in the farm economy in recent memory. " Zacharias also stated
that we have worked with past Administrations
to ensure that the program provides the best
risk management tools for America's farmers
and ranchers. Zacharias reviewed the 2020 experience and highlighted the industry's role in
working on COVID-19 response.
A legal panel entitled " Arbitration Misfires-How Bad Things Happen to Good People " was moderated by NCIS General Counsel,
Charles Lee. Attorneys Daniel Rosenstein, Levin
and Rosenstein, P.C., and Zane Vaughn, AgriSompo North America, provided their perspective on some of the common mistakes companies
make when approaching arbitration cases.
" There are various reasons why a company's defense of its adjustment practices fails in
arbitration, " said Rosenstein. " But they all have
similarities in three areas: failure to follow policy and procedure, failure to investigate all facts,
and the failure to adequately document and
communicate. "
Vaughn stressed to the participants the importance of ensuring that every piece of docu16

FIRSTQUARTER2021

mentation is included in the claim file.
" Sometimes the adjuster writes notes on the
front of the claim envelope but doesn't include
those notes in the electronic documentation for
the file, " Vaughn said. " It is important that everything relevant to that loss is included in the file.
Agricultural Policy Analyst, Dr. Mickey Paggi
gave an informative presentation on the Pathways to Green Agricultural Policy, something
he said will be gaining a lot of attention from
the new Administration over the next four years.
Paggi focused on carbon sequestration and how
those carbon credits can turn into income for
America's farmers and ranchers.
" The incoming Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow, and others
have introduced new legislation aimed to help
Figure 1

Crop-Hail Updates.

farmers navigate this new initiative, " said Paggi. " The Growing Climate Solutions Act helps
farmers and foresters navigate carbon markets,
incentivizing carbon sequestration, and bringing
dollars to producers. "
Paggi said that it appears some type of green
agricultural policy will be forthcoming in the
very near future and it will be important for crop
insurance to be well informed.
" The crop insurance industry will need to
monitor developments and concentrate on information and education efforts, that emphasize
the need to maintain the core mission of crop insurance, are tied to data driven, actuarially sound
proposals. Our boots on the ground delivery system may be viewed as a resource to assist in new
program initiatives. "

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Crop Insurance Today First Quarter 2021

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