Who Can Receive Payments as a Producer Affected by Hurricane Helene?

Last updated: 2024/10/19 at 7:34 PM

Contents

$233M Indemnity Payments Payouts by state

$233M Indemnity Payments: Tom Vilsack, the secretary of agriculture, has announced new USDA compensation programs to help farmers who were hurt by Hurricane Helene. The Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index (HIP-WI) endorsement now lets towns that were hit by the storm get payments. These payments are meant to help people who are in need.

$233M Indemnity Payments

Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) have up to 30 days to accept and send these payments, even though payments are usually processed quickly. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) of the USDA started the HIP-WI program in 2020. Since then, it has grown to include a Tropical Storm Option (TS), which gives farmers even more help when bad weather hits.

3284 Stimulus Payment Date: When to Expect Your October Check in 2024

Producers with HIP-WI and TS coverage who were affected by Hurricane Helene will receive nearly $233 million in indemnities, which is intended to aid in the recovery of farmers and rural communities from the storm’s damages.

“To obtain an indemnity payment under HIP-WI, producers are not required to submit a claim,” the official website of the US Department of Agriculture states.

“In the upcoming weeks, the AIP will pay an indemnity if a county is activated. Triggered counties are listed in the county’s actuarial documentation and were identified by RMA in Product Management Bulletin 24-067.

A HIP-WI indemnity payment will be made to qualified producers in addition to any indemnity benefits that they may be entitled to under their underlying crop insurance policy. AIPs are processing the underlying crop insurance policy claims in a timely manner by employing the usual notification of loss and claims procedure.

1600 Stimulus Payment Date: When Will Eligible Seniors and Disabled Residents Receive Their Payment

“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).”

The USDA has given out almost $630 million through the HIP-WI and TS programs in 2024. This money has been used to pay for damage from Hurricane Helene as well as Hurricanes Beryl, Debby, and Francine.

The deputy secretary of agriculture, Torres Small, has been on the ground. He just got back from trips to Georgia and South Carolina to look over relief efforts, talk to farms in the area, 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.”