When disaster strikes, the first question most farmers face is: “Where do I even begin?”
While crop insurance provides a critical safety net, the reality is that claims move faster and smoother when records are complete, accessible, and backed up.
At CIMXag Insurance, we’ve seen firsthand how difficult recovery can be when fields are damaged and paperwork is lost. Disasters don’t just hit crops — they hit file cabinets, computers, trucks, and anything else holding the records needed to verify a loss.
Here’s what farmers should keep in mind before a disaster hits, and what to focus on after, from a crop-insurance perspective.
1. Crop Insurance Works Best When Your Records Work for You
Your policy can only protect what can be verified. After storms, fire, or flooding, farmers often struggle to reconstruct essentials like:
- Yield history
- Sales receipts
- Input purchases
- Stored production
- Equipment or facility losses that tie into operational impact
These are all documents crop insurance adjusters rely on to confirm the size and timing of a loss.
If records are missing or destroyed, the loss adjustment process can slow down significantly.
Good records = faster recovery.
2. What to Do If Your Records Are Damaged or Destroyed
Even if everything is lost, farmers do not have to start from zero.
You can often rebuild production and financial records using:
- Statements from grain elevators, gins, or buyers
- FSA and NRCS records
- Bank and credit card statements
- Crop input invoices from suppliers
- Precision ag data stored online
- Photos, planting maps, and field notes saved in cloud accounts
Insurance adjusters are used to working with reconstructed files — the key is pulling together alternative sources quickly.
3. Protect Your Records Before Disaster Hits
A few preventative steps make all the difference:
- Keep digital copies of yield records, scale tickets, and invoices
- Store files in more than one location (computer + cloud or external drive)
- Back up planting maps and precision ag data regularly
- Protect paper records in waterproof containers
- Keep copies of your insurance documents where you can access them remotely
These habits can save days or even weeks of delays after a loss event.
4. A Helpful Resource for Rebuilding Records
Farmers.gov recently shared expert guidance on reconstructing records after disaster — a great supplemental resource for anyone rebuilding paperwork or wanting to be better prepared.
You can read it here:
Farmers.gov – “Ask the Expert: Tips for Reconstructing Records After a Disaster”
(Use this as additional guidance when gathering documentation for a crop insurance claim.)
5. If You Experience a Loss: Call Us First
Crop insurance policies have strict timelines for reporting losses.
If your farm is hit by a storm or disaster:
- Contact your CIMXag agent immediately.
- Start documenting damage with photos and field notes.
- Begin gathering any surviving receipts, invoices, or digital records.
We’ll help guide the documentation process and work with adjusters to move your claim forward efficiently — even if records must be reconstructed.
Bottom line:
Strong records speed up recovery, support accurate claims, and give crop insurance the best chance to do what it’s designed to do — protect your operation when you need it most.
