"We're excited about this new connection with John Deere Operations Center to offer best-in-class precision ag services to keep farmers doing what they do best, which is providing food, feed, fuel and fiber to a growing world population," said Mike Day, Head of RCIS for Zurich North America. "As precision ag continues to play a vital role on the farm, we will continue to innovate in this area to address our customers' evolving risk management needs now and in the future."
For RCIS crop insurance agents and policyholders, the time invested in reporting acreage and harvested production are among the biggest time investments in crop insurance. The information is provided to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency, which is a requirement of the federal crop insurance program. The cloud-based John Deere Operations Center tool makes the process of recording and reporting planting and production information simpler and more streamlined.
With this new connection, and at no extra cost to RCIS policyholders, farmers utilizing the John Deere Operations Center can access, analyze, manage and share their completed planting or harvest data from their accounts. With the farmers' permission, agents can directly pull the data into RCIS FarmMapssm mapping system to generate reports for signature removing the hassle of paperwork, travel, manual entry and human error.
"What used to be a timely, manual documentation and reporting process now can be handled in less time and with greater precision, and with equipment and tools that farmers and agents, for the most part, already have in place," said Nick Luett, RCIS Mapping Product Manager. "This is a game-changer for all involved."
Additionally, the John Deere Operations Center connection positions RCIS to use more precision ag information in the claims process going forward. The use of the platform means farmers can access harvested production records more easily, potentially saving farmers time in providing information needed in the claims process.
RCIS' addition of the John Deere Operations Center is another step in the RCIS journey to develop an end-to-end precision ag solution that improves the overall agent and farmer experience.
"Digital technology is rapidly changing the agriculture industry and the way RCIS agents and farmers work," added Day. "Precision ag is one such area driving this transformation and one that Zurich and its crop insurance business is heavily investing in."
About RCIS
Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS), is a registered trade name of Rural Community Insurance Company. It provides insurance and customer-focused services through leading agents to protect America's farmers and ranchers. RCIS has been a leading innovator in crop insurance since 1982, after the crop insurance business was privatized by the federal government. With a national network of more than 3,600 agents, RCIS conducts business in all 50 U.S. states, providing risk management for more than 160 crops on more than 95 million acres. Further information is available at www.RCIS.com
Zurich understands the importance of farmers and the agriculture industry to the American economy and has been in the U.S. crop insurance business for more than 20 years. When Zurich purchased RCIS crop insurance business in 2016, it shifted its long-standing position from a reinsurer to a 100 percent owner of an Approved Insurance Provider (AIP) through the federal crop insurance program.