Enclosure Page 2

FCIC Interpretation of Procedure

Risk Management Agency Interpretation of Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Provisions:

Subject: Request dated March 8, 2021, to the Risk Management Agency (RMA) for an interpretation 

for the 2018 Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Pilot Handbook (WFRP) regarding whether 

subparagraph 23(12) permits an Approved Insuance Provider (AIP) to cancel a policy within the initial 

year of insurance or retroactively, after the initial year of insurance has concluded.

The relevant handbook procedure provided by the requestor is subparagraph 23(12):

23. Application

(12) The WFRP policy may not be cancelled during the first year. The insured or the AIP may 

cancel a WFRP policy for any policy year following the first year by giving a signed notice 

to the other party on or before the cancellation date. A request made by the insured to 

cancel the policy after the cancellation date will be effective the following policy year.

Interpretation Submitted by Requestor(s)

The first requester interprets subparagraph 23(12) to mean that neither the insured nor the AIP may 

cancel the WFRP policy during the first year. The first requester believes this is consistent with and 

not in conflict with section 4(c) of the 2018 WFRP Pilot Policy, wherein it states, “either you or we 

may cancel this policy after the initial insurance year...” The first requester also believes the language 

in subparagraph 23(12) of the handbook and section 4(c) of the policy prevent the AIP from cancelling 

the first year of coverage retroactively after the year has passed and the insured’s coverage has carried 

over into the second policy year. The first requester believes it would be contrary to the policy to 

allow an AIP to cancel the initial policy year after the insured has paid the premium for the initial 

policy year or a subsequent policy year, having undergone underwriting reviews and acceptance by the 

AIP. Finally, the first requester interprets subparagraph 23(12) as being not in conflict with Section 

4(a) of the Policy because 4(a) is silent on whether the AIP can cancel during the first year.

The second requester begins with language in the 2018 WFRP Policy that is captioned 

“AGREEMENT TO INSURE,” which sets forth the priority in the event of a conflict between policy 

and procedure. Under this provision, the WFRP Policy controls and supersedes the WFRP Handbook. 

Section 4(a) of the WFRP Policy provides only that “you,” meaning the insured, may not cancel the 

policy for the initial insurance or policy year. Section 4(a) of the WFRP Policy controls section 

23(12) of the WFRP Handbook. Therefore, section 23(12) of the WFRP Handbook may not be 

interpreted to mean that the AIP may not cancel a policy in the initial insurance or policy year.

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Determination

FCIC disagrees with the first requester’s interpretation that subparagraph 23(12) in the 2018 WFRP 

Pilot Handbook is an absolute bar to the AIP cancelling the WFRP policy during the initial year of 

insurance. If at any time, during the initial year of insurance or a subsequent year, the AIP determines 

the insured does not meet the eligibility requirements contained in section 3 of the 2018 WFRP Pilot 

Policy, the insured’s WFRP policy may be cancelled.
Enclosure Page 3

FCIC Interpretation of Procedure

FCIC agrees with the second requester that the 2018 WFRP Pilot Policy controls and supersedes the 

2018 WFRP Pilot Handbook in the event that the language within handbook conflicts with the policy 

language. Furthermore, FCIC agrees that the language in subparagraph 23(12) of the 2018 WFRP 

Pilot Handbook cannot be interpreted to mean there are no circumstances in which an AIP may cancel 

a WFRP policy in the initial insurance year.

In accordance with section 33(a)(1) of the WFRP Pilot Policy, this FCIC interpretation is generally 

applicable and binding in any mediation or arbitration. In accordance with section 33(a)(1), any 

appeal of this interpretation must be in accordance with 7 C.F.R. part 11.