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Policy & Procedure

Product Management Bulletin-PM-24-087 Educational Tools for Hurricane Insurance Protection - Wind Index and the Tropical Storm Option

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Date
To
All Approved Insurance Providers
All Risk Management Agency Field Offices
All Other Interested Parties
From
Richard H. Flournoy, Deputy Administrator /s/ Richard H. Flournoy
Subject
Educational Tools for Hurricane Insurance Protection - Wind Index (HIP-WI) and the Tropical Storm Option (TS)

BACKGROUND:

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) developed HIP-WI in 2020 and TS in 2023. Since implementation, these programs have paid over $1.5 billion within a few weeks after each tropical cyclone. In 2024 alone, five hurricanes triggered $770 million in payments across nine states (Hurricanes Beryl, Debby, Francine, Helene, and Milton).

While the programs have been widely adopted, early feedback indicated that many stakeholders did not fully understand how the programs operate. To increase understanding of these relatively new programs, prior to the 2024 hurricane season, RMA released a Product Management Bulletin on March 8, 2024, providing stakeholders a suite of HIP-WI and TS educational tools including videos, podcasts, fact sheets, and frequently asked questions.

After the 2024 hurricane season, RMA received feedback that many producers and agents still did not understand how these programs work and how the counties are triggered.

RMA is dedicated to ensuring producers have the best risk management tools available. Therefore, it is imperative that Approved Insurance Providers (AIP), and their agents utilize the available resources to ensure producers are fully informed about these policies.

RMA is planning to host events starting this January to promote education of HIP-WI and TS. More information on these events will be announced in January 2025.

ACTION:

AIPs are reminded about the educational resources available on the RMA website at www.rma.usda.gov/about-crop-insurance/highlighted-initiatives-plans/hurricane-insurance-protection-wind-index.

AIPs should share these resources with agents in trainings and emphasize the importance of properly explaining HIP-WI and TS to producers. Similarly, agents should share these materials with producers who are interested in purchasing the endorsement.

If you have additional feedback that will assist RMA with these educational efforts, please contact Zach White at zachary.white@usda.gov.

DISPOSAL DATE:
December 31, 2025