Carl Jardon (ICGA photo)
The Iowa Insurance Division recently reported more than $1.6-billion was paid out for claims of damage from the August 10th derecho, which includes more than $70-million just for crop damage.
Iowa Corn Growers Association president Carl Jardon says his property near Randolph in far southwest Iowa fared well during the powerful storm, but many hundreds of others were severely impacted.
“I was far enough south, I did not get the storm damage but I sure feel bad for our friends and relatives that had to go through that, combining young corn and junk out in the middle of their fields,” Jardon says, “just a terrible situation.”
The derecho, he says, is a clear example of how critical it is for producers to have risk management and a solid crop insurance program.
“It really showed through this year,” Jardon says. “That was one of our policy priorities, to protect crop insurance. So, yeah, that really came through this year.”
He notes multiple other types of insurance became very important given the derecho’s devastation.
“Not only the crop insurance but have insurance on your buildings and your facilities, so yeah, it all comes through this year,” he says.
While more than 200,000 insurance claims were filed on derecho-related damage, Iowa Insurance Division officials say they got fewer than 100 complaints.
(By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton)