Farmer Survey

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Federal Crop Insurance Program – Delivery Cost Study Survey

OMB #### - ####
OMB Exp. Date

Dear Federal Crop Insurance Policyholder:
The Risk Management Agency (RMA), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
has contracted with KPMG LLP (KPMG) and Campos Inc. (Campos) to conduct a study
of the costs of delivery of the Federal crop insurance program. An important aspect of this
study is to get a comprehensive understanding of the services that crop insurance agents
provide to policyholders. Accordingly, you have been randomly selected from a
nationwide group of Federal crop insurance policyholders to participate in the enclosed
Survey, designed to collect such information.
Please answer all questions within the Survey. We estimate it will take you approximately
20 minutes to complete it. All Survey responses will remain confidential and anonymous
to the extent permitted by law.
Please respond to the Survey by [Date]. We prefer that you complete and submit the
Survey online through the secure Campos website www.FCIPfarmer.Campos.com,
using the following password [PIN] to log-in when prompted.
However, if you would rather take the survey off-line, you can also mail the Survey to
Campos using the enclosed pre-paid envelope.
We appreciate your assistance in providing this information that will help RMA to better
understand the services that crop insurance agents provide to policyholders. If you have
any questions or you need assistance in completing this Survey, please contact Russell
Stammer at [email protected].

Sincerely,
United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency
KPMG LLP
Campos Inc

Federal Crop Insurance Program
Federal Crop Insurance Policyholder Survey
In this Survey, all questions asked are specifically related to your purchases of the Federal crop insurance
policies, the time spent and the services provided by your insurance agent(s) in selling and servicing your
Federal crop insurance policies for crops harvested in Calendar Year 2011. Please provide your best estimate for
each question.
SECTION 1: Background Information
1.1 In which region(s) did you have Federal crop insurance policies for crops harvested in 2011?
(Please mark all regions that apply)
South

Northeast

1

Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Louisiana
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas

2

Connecticut
Delaware
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia

Midwest

3

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Ohio
Wisconsin

Plains

Mountain

4

Kansas
Nebraska
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota

Colorado
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Utah
Wyoming

5

West

6

Alaska
Arizona
California
Hawaii
Idaho
Oregon
Washington

Please indicate the percentage of your insurance premiums in each region:
(Note: These should sum to 100% of your premiums)
________%

________%

________%

________%

________%

________%

1.2 Approximately how many total acres did you farm of crops harvested in 2011? __________ acres
1.3 What percentage of your farmed acreage was insured with Federal crop insurance for crops harvested in
2011? _____%
SECTION 2: Policy Information
2.1 How many Federal crop insurance policies did you purchase for crops harvested in 2011? _______
policies
2.2 For about how many years have you been purchasing Federal crop insurance policies? _________ years
2.3 What percent of the Federal crop insurance policies you purchased for crops harvested in 2011 were for
the following crops?
(Note: These should sum to 100% of the Federal crop insurance policies you purchased in 2011)
Corn ................. ________%
Soybean ........... ________%
Wheat .............. ________%
Cotton .............. ________%
Peanuts ............ ________%
[PIN]

Fruit/Vegetables .....
Sorghum .................
Rice ........................
Perennials...............
Other ......................

_______
_______
_______
_______
_______

%
%
%
%
%
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2.4 What percent of all Federal crop insurance policies you purchased for crops harvested in 2011 were of
the following policy types? (Note: These should sum to 100% of your Federal Crop Insurance policies)
Catastrophic Loss Coverage “CAT” ............................................_______ %
Area-Based Plans (GRP, GRIP, PRF, etc.).................................._______ %
Revenue Protection ......................................................................_______ %
Yield-Based Plans (APH, Yield Protection) ................................_______ %
Other Plans (Dollar, Actual Revenue History, etc.)....................._______ %
2.5 What percent of the Federal crop insurance policies you purchased for crops harvested in 2011 fell into
the following categories? (Note: These should sum to 100% of your Federal crop insurance policies in
2011)
Large Policies (Farmer Premium over $3,200)........................................_______ %
Medium Policies (Farmer Premium between $1,200 and $3,200) .........._______ %
Small Policies (Farmer Premium below $1,200) ....................................._______ %
2.6 Besides Federal crop insurance policies, which other insurances did you purchase from the same
insurance agent(s) who sold you the Federal crop insurance policies for crops harvested in 2011?
(Check all that apply)
1 Homeowners
2 Auto
3 Health
4 Life
5 Hail
6 Other, please specify _________________________________
7 None
SECTION 3: Agent information
3.1 From how many insurance agents did you purchase Federal crop insurance policies for crops harvested
in 2011? ______agent(s)
3.2 How many years have you done business with your current Federal crop insurance agent(s)?
If you have worked with multiple insurance agents, please list the number of years for the three agents
you worked with the longest:
Agent A: ______ years
Agent B: _______ years
Agent C: ______ years
3.3 Have you ever changed your Federal crop insurance agent(s)?
1 Yes
2 No
3 N/A (2011 was the first year you purchased Federal crop insurance)
SECTION 4: Interactions with Federal Crop Insurance Agent
4.1 Approximately, how many times do you interact with your Federal crop insurance agent(s) in
one year…?
a. For a Typical (i.e., Non-Loss) Year? ........_______ interactions
b. For a Loss Year? ......................................._______ interactions
4.2 When you communicated with your insurance agent(s) in 2011, what was the nature of your interaction
with them in percent of total time spent on average across policies?
(Note: These should sum to 100% of your time spent interacting with agents)

Face-to-face ........................_______ %
Phone .................................._______ %
[PIN]

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With a group of farmers ......_______ %
Email ..................................._______ %
Other ..................................._______ % Please describe _______________________
4.3 In the past year or two, what changes, if any, have you noticed in the frequency of the following types of
interactions between you and your insurance agent(s)?
Have
Increased

Type of Interaction

Are About
the Same

Have
Decreased

N/A

a. Face-to-face

3

2

1

4

b. Phone

3

2

1

4

c. With a group of farmers

3

2

1

4

d. Email

3

2

1

4

4.4 For crops harvested in 2011, how many times did you interact with your Federal crop insurance agent(s)
and how long were your interactions on average for each of the following tasks?
Number of
Interactions

Tasks

Avg. Length of
an Interaction
(Hours)

a. Consulting with your agent(s) on Federal crop insurance
program, learn about program changes, policy provisions, and
select appropriate Federal crop insurance coverage
b. Consulting with your agent(s) on other farm programs/issues
c. Attending seminars through your agent(s)
d. Developing relationship/building goodwill with your agent(s)
e. Completing insurance application forms and obtaining
signature
f. Compiling and certifying your production history
g. Gathering/submitting your acreage report
h. Gathering your production report
i. Filing notice of crop damage, processing loss claims and
ensuring timely receipt of loss payment

4.5 Based on your experiences, are you generally satisfied with the level of service provided by your
Federal crop insurance agent(s) for your 2011 Federal crop insurance policies?
1

Yes

[PIN]

2

No

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4.6 Please describe the level of service you received from your agent(s) for crops harvested in 2011 in the
following areas:
Far Too
Little

Areas

Too
Little

Just
Enough

Too
Much

Far Too
Much

N/A

a. Consulting with you on Federal crop
insurance programs

1

2

3

4

5

b. Consulting with you on other farm
programs/issues

1

2

3

4

5

c. Attending seminars/educational
sessions through your agent(s)

1

2

3

4

5

d. Developing and building relationship/
goodwill with you

1

2

3

4

5

e. Preparing your insurance application
forms, production history, acreage
report, etc.

1

2

3

4

5

f. Monitoring market conditions

1

2

3

4

5

g. Assisting with your claim mapping
services

1

2

3

4

5

h. Reporting your claim

1

2

3

4

5

6

i. Filing notice of crop damage, processing
loss claims and ensuring timely receipt of
loss payment

1

2

3

4

5

6

4.7 Overall, have you experienced any noticeable change in the level of service provided to you by your
insurance agent(s) in the past year or two?
3

Level of service has increased

2

Level of service has neither increased nor decreased

1

Level of service has decreased

4

N/A (2011 was the first year you purchased Federal crop insurance)

[PIN]

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