Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has unveiled new relief measures from the USDA to help farmers hit by Hurricane Helene. The assistance will be provided through the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index (HIP-WI) endorsement, with affected counties now eligible for payments.
Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) have a 30-day window to process and issue these payments, though they often move more swiftly.
The HIP-WI program was introduced by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) back in 2020, and later expanded to cover a Tropical Storm Option (TS).
For those impacted by Hurricane Helene, producers with HIP-WI and TS coverage will see over $233 million in indemnities, which aims to help farmers and rural communities recover from the storm’s damage.
“Producers do not need to file a claim to receive an indemnity payment under HIP-WI,” the official US Department of Agriculture website reads.
“If a county is triggered, the AIP will issue an indemnity payment in the coming weeks. Triggered counties were identified by RMA in Product Management Bulletin 24-067 and will also be available in the county’s actuarial documents.
“Eligible producers will receive a HIP-WI indemnity payment in addition to any applicable indemnity payments due to them through their underlying crop insurance policy. AIPs are using the standard notice of loss and claims process to timely process those underlying crop insurance policy claims.
“HIP-WI covers a portion of the deductible of the underlying crop insurance policy when the county, or an adjacent one, is hit with sustained hurricane-force winds from a named hurricane based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).”
So far in 2024, the USDA has distributed more than $630 million under the HIP-WI and TS programs, addressing damages not only from Hurricane Helene but also from Hurricanes Beryl, Debby, and Francine.
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Torres Small has been on the ground, recently visiting South Carolina and Georgia to assess recovery efforts, meet with local farmers, and oversee the distribution of emergency food supplies.
“Several states across the southeast experienced devastating damages from Hurricane Helene, which caused significant destruction right before the fall harvest season,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “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.”
Payouts by state
Estimated payouts for Hurricane Helene losses are broken down by state:
- Alabama: $5.0 million
- Florida: $12.8 million
- Georgia: $207.7 million
- North Carolina: $4.1 million
- South Carolina: $4.1 million
- Virginia: $61,000
