Dicamba Update (Part II)

There are been a number of articles in the news recently discussing insurance and dicamba drift.  Of course, drift damage is not covered by the damaged farmer’s crop insurance policy.  Generally, injured producers look to the applicator’s liability insurance policy for compensation.  Stories have reported that these claims have been denied for several reasons.  First, claims may be denied if the insurance company determines that their applicator did nothing wrong.  For example, if an applicator somehow violated the label by spraying with wind speeds that were too high or too low or using the wrong nozzle, the insurance company would likely cover that.  If, however, the applicator followed all of the rules, acted reasonably, and there is no evidence of wrongdoing, yet damage occurred, a company may deny coverage.  Second, on the other end of the spectrum, companies will deny claims if they determine their insured knowingly violated the law or the label when applying pesticides.  Third, coverage may be denied due to lack of proof of causation–it may be difficult for the injured farmer to prove exactly who caused the crop damage, particularly if numerous neighbors all applied dicamba.  Finally, concerns have been vocalized that insurance premiums for policies covering spray drift could dramatically increase as a result of the ongoing issues.