Farmers bought crop insurance policies on 297 million acres in 2015, covering 85 percent of land planted to major field crops such as corn, wheat, cotton and soybeans, an increase of 16 percent from the coverage area in 2010, according to Risk Management Agency data. Coverage of fruit, vegetables and other specialty crops has grown more slowly, to reach 8.3 million acres last year.
RMA, which oversees the federally subsidized insurance system, said it reduced its improper-payment rate to 2.2 percent last year, from 5.6 percent in 2014.
The government pays roughly 62 cents of each $1 in premiums as an inducement for growers to buy crop insurance. RMA says the program has 118,000 options for 543 varieties of crops, compared to 64,000 options a half-dozen years ago.
Insurers paid $6.2 billion in indemnities last year, equal to two-thirds of the premium paid. Since 2005, premiums exceeded payments in eight of the 10 years. Drought triggered large indemnities in 2012 and 2013.