§ 400.10 General statement.

(a) Catastrophic coverage. The Federal Crop Insurance Act, as amended by the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (Act), requires the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) to implement a catastrophic risk protection plan of insurance that provides a basic level of insurance coverage to protect producers in the event of a catastrophic crop loss due to loss of yield or prevented planting, if provided by FCIC, provided the crop loss or prevented planting is due to an insured cause of loss specified in the crop insurance policy. The Catastrophic Risk Protection Endorsement is a continuous endorsement that is effective in conjunction with a crop insurance policy for the insured crop. Catastrophic risk protection coverage will be offered through approved insurance providers if there are a sufficient number available to service the area. If there are an insufficient number available, as determined by the Secretary, local offices of the Farm Service Agency will provide catastrophic risk protection coverage.

(b) Additional coverage. The Act directs FCIC to offer additional coverage insurance policies that provide a level of coverage greater than the level available under catastrophic risk protection. These additional coverage policies may be offered on an individual loss basis, an area loss basis, or an individual loss basis supplemented with area loss coverage and may include margin coverage.