CROP HsTSURANCE : RISKS, LOSSES, ETC. 27 



lie is led tc expect from the figures indicating the amount of insur- 

 ance an acre. The company should not profit by a calamity to the 

 farmer in the form of reduced prices for his product. 



6. An early adjustment should be provided for in case of total 

 failure of an insured crop, or such an approximation to failure that 

 it would not pay to mature and harvest the crop. The part of the 

 income or yield guaranteed by the contract, which becomes due under 

 such circumstances, should be plainly stated and should not exceed 

 the value of the labor and other costs, including rental, that are 

 actually lost to the insured in connection with the crop. 



7. All adjustments involving only partial damage should, so far 

 as possible, be left until after the crop has been harvested and put 

 into marketable form so that quantity and grade can be determined. 

 This makes possible economy in adjustment expense. 



8. Lastly, there must be a certain degree of understanding between 

 the farmers and the company or agency offering the insurance if 

 protection is to be available on truly favorable terms. Crop insur- 

 ance must be bought on the same principle as fire insurance is pur- 

 chased, merely as a guaranty against serious loss and not with the 

 expectation of securing an indemnity every two or three years. If 

 the insurance is to be written with the idea that frequent indemnities 

 for minor cases of crop damage are to be paid, it necessarily becomes 

 so expensive that those in greatest need of it can ill afford to buy it. 

 The insured should find some method of helping the organization 

 providing protection to reduce the heavy expense connected with 

 the acquisition of business which now prevails in nearly all lines of 

 insurance, at any rate where the business is conducted on a commer- 

 cial basis. In some of the European countries, farmers' organizations 

 have applied the principle of collective purchasing to their insurance 

 problems. Perhaps the farmers' organizations of the United States 

 will find some way of solving this problem on a plan consistent with 

 American laws and American conditions. 



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