Consider These New Crop Insurance Coverage Options — Economist

The deadline for purchasing crop insurance is about three weeks away, and farmers have options to consider in making their protection decisions for this year’s crop. The Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) and Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) provide higher bands of coverage beyond selected levels; for example, SCO enables a farmer to buy coverage up to 86% and ECO provides coverage up to 95%. One economist says he expects ECO to trigger a payment often. Thought the coverage options are more expensive, the economist warns shorting crop insurance spending in a year of high grain prices given the increased financial risk of things like prevented plantings and drought. See more on SCO and ECO coverage options.