SUMMARY OF CHANGES FOR THE HURRICANE INSURANCE PROTECTION - WIND INDEX 

ENDORSEMENT (22-HIP-WI) 

(Released June 2021) 

The following is a brief description of changes to the endorsement that will be effective for the 

2022 and succeeding crop years. Please refer to the crop provisions for more complete 

information. 

Section 1 – Revised the definitions of “Adjacent county” and “County loss trigger.” Added 

definition of “County.” 

Section 2 – Revised to clarify the impact of changing your coverage in subsequent crop years, 

and the limitations imposed on coverage resulting from said changes. 

Section 3 – Revised to determine eligible acres where a loss is not triggered for your county 

before you report your acreage for the underlying policy. 

Section 6 – Clarification that any adjustment in liability to the underlying crop policy will apply to 

the endorsement. 

Section 7 – Revised to clarify that only one administrative fee per crop, per county is owed for 

HIP-WI. 

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22-HIP-WI

(Released June 2021) 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE CORPORATION 

HURRICANE INSURANCE PROTECTION – WIND INDEX 

ENDORSEMENT 

In return for your payment of premium and administrative fee for the coverage, this Endorsement will be attached to and made part of the 

Common Crop Insurance Policy, Basic Provisions (Basic Provisions) and Crop Provisions for the insured crop, subject to the terms and 

conditions described herein. The Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index (HIP-WI) Endorsement provides coverage for a portion of the 

deductible of your underlying insurance policy that is not otherwise covered, when the insured county, or a county adjacent to it, is within 

the area of sustained hurricane force winds from a named hurricane according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA). This Endorsement does not provide payments for prevented planting or replanting. Nor is it available with the Occurrence Loss 

Option (OLO) or the Comprehensive Tree Value (CTV) Endorsement. Factors other than wind damage may be associated with a hurricane 

but will not trigger a loss. The coverage provided by this Endorsement may be combined with the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) 

Endorsement, and the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) when acreage covered by STAX is also insured by a companion policy. 

1. Definitions

Adjacent county – Counties identified in the US Census

County Adjacency File located at

https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/county_adja

cency.txt, unless modified in the actuarial documents.

County – In addition to the definition in the Basic

Provisions, county boundaries may be modified for

purposes of determining coverage and county loss trigger

in the actuarial documents.

County loss trigger – The occurrence of sustained

hurricane force winds in a county or adjacent county, as

determined by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), in

accordance with the Hurricane Data Provisions (HDP) and

identified on the actuarial documents. The date of the

county loss trigger will be the day of arrival of the sustained

hurricane force wind field from a named hurricane in the

county or adjacent county, as determined by RMA in

accordance with HDP.

Coverage percentage – A factor elected, between 1 and

100 percent in whole percent increments, used to

determine the Hurricane Protection Amount.

Expected crop value – The value of the crop based upon

the underlying policy and determined by dividing the liability

of the underlying policy by the coverage level, and further

dividing by the percent of the price or price election of the

underlying policy.

Hurricane coverage range – The amount of difference

between 95 percent and the higher of the coverage level of

your underlying policy, or the upper end of your SCO

coverage range (if SCO coverage applies), or your STAX

coverage range (if STAX coverage applies), if applicable,

expressed as a whole percentage.

Hurricane Data Provisions (HDP) – A document that

describes the methodology utilized by RMA, incorporating

NOAA hurricane data, that identifies a county subjected to

sustained hurricane force winds, and any county adjacent

to that county.

Hurricane Protection Amount (HPA) - The dollar amount

of insurance as determined by section 6 of this

Endorsement.

Insurance period – In lieu of section 11 of the Basic

Provisions,

(a) the period:

(1) Beginning on the insurance attachment date, when

provided in the HIP-WI actuarial documents, or the

later of:

(i) The sales closing date for the underlying policy; or

(ii) The earliest planting date, for each planting

period when applicable, for the underlying policy;

and

(2) Ending on:

(i) The end of insurance date, for each planting

period when applicable, when provided in the

HIP-WI actuarial documents; or

(ii) The end of insurance date published, for each

planting period when applicable, provided in the

underlying policy actuarial documents when not

provided in the HIP-WI actuarial documents.

(b) In lieu of (a) in this definition, for those crops where the

underlying policy requires a waiting period, the period:

(1) Beginning on the date insurance attaches on the

underlying policy; and

(2) Ending on:

(i) The end of insurance date, for each planting

period when applicable, when provided in the

HIP-WI actuarial documents; or

(ii) The end of insurance date published, for each

planting period when applicable, provided in the

underlying policy actuarial documents when not

provided in the HIP-WI actuarial documents.

Intended acreage report – In lieu of the definition 

contained in the Basic Provisions, a report of the acreage 

you intend to plant, by crop, for the current crop year and 

used solely for the purpose of establishing the number of 

eligible acres for coverage under this program as indicated 

in Section 4. 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) – An agency within the United States Department 

of Commerce, or its successor. 

Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) – A county-level 

crop insurance option that provides additional coverage for 

a portion of a producer’s underlying policy deductible. 

Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) – A crop 

insurance product for upland cotton that provides coverage 

for a portion of the expected revenue for a producer’s area. 

Underlying policy – The Common Crop Insurance Policy, 

Basic Provisions (Basic Provisions) published at 7 C.F.R. 

part 457 and Crop Provisions, to which this Endorsement 

is attached. A crop covered by any plan of insurance not 

under the Basic Provisions will not qualify as an underlying 

policy for this Endorsement. 

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2. Conditions of Insurance 

(a) There must be an underlying policy in force with us to 

elect coverage under this Endorsement. 

(b) This Endorsement is applicable only in those counties 

where coverage is offered in the actuarial documents. 

(c) This Endorsement is not available with STAX when the 

acreage insured under STAX is not also insured under 

a companion policy. 

(d) To be eligible to receive an indemnity payment, the 

county loss trigger must occur within the insurance 

period, as defined in this Endorsement. For crop policies 

with multiple planting periods within an insurance 

period, only one indemnity payment is allowed per 

eligible planting period, on a per acre basis. 

(e) For the initial year you elect this Endorsement, coverage 

will not begin until the later of 14 days after the sales 

closing date or the end of the waiting period for the 

underlying policy when the underlying policy also 

requires a similar waiting period. 

(f) For subsequent years, you may change your HIP-WI 

coverage (e.g., lowering coverage on the underlying 

policy, increasing HIP-WI coverage percentage, 

decreasing STAX coverage level) by the sales closing 

date, and: 

(1) If you decrease your HIP-WI coverage, the 

decreased coverage will be effective without a 

waiting period. If a loss is triggered for your county 

within the waiting period, coverage for the acreage 

insurable at that time will be based on the lower 

coverage for your current insured year. 

(2) If you increase your HIP-WI coverage, the increased 

coverage will take effect after the latter of 14 days 

after the sales closing date or the end of the waiting 

period for the underlying policy when the underlying 

policy also requires a similar waiting period. If a loss 

is triggered for your county within 14 days after the 

sales closing date or the underlying policy waiting 

period, coverage for the acreage insured under HIPWI for the current crop year will be limited to the HIPWI coverage from the previous crop year. If 

additional acreage is insured under HIP-WI after the 

14-day waiting period, or the waiting period of the 

underlying policy, and an additional hurricane event 

occurs, that acreage will be insured using the current 

year’s HIP-WI coverage. 

3. Life of Endorsement 

(a) This is a continuous Endorsement, in accordance with 

section 2 of the Basic Provisions. 

(b) If at any time your underlying policy for the crop is 

cancelled, voided, or terminated, coverage under this 

Endorsement is automatically cancelled, voided, or 

terminated as of the same date. 

(c) If you change the coverage level or plan of insurance on 

the underlying policy, or add, change, or remove any 

SCO or STAX coverage associated with your underlying 

policy, this Endorsement will remain in effect and will 

provide coverage based on the revised underlying 

coverage level or any SCO or STAX coverage, as 

appropriate, if the change is made before the SCD for 

the plan of insurance you selected, unless you cancel 

this Endorsement on or before the cancellation date or 

you change your underlying policy to a plan of insurance 

not covered by the Common Crop Insurance Policy 

Basic Provisions. After the SCD, if SCO coverage changes 

due to enrollment in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) 

program, or, STAX, either the ARC or Price Loss Coverage 

(PLC) program, then HIP-WI coverage is not increased to 

the underlying policy coverage level, unless you report 

such SCO or STAX coverage change by the acreage 

reporting date. 

4. Report of Acreage

You are not required to file a separate report of acreage 

when you elect this Endorsement. However, should a loss 

trigger before you report acreage for the underlying policy, 

your claim will not be settled in accordance with Section 9 

until you submit your acreage report to us so we can 

determine your coverage under this Endorsement. The 

number of eligible acres of the insured crop under this 

Endorsement will be: 

(a) For the initial year the Endorsement is accepted: 

(1) If a loss is triggered for your county before you report 

your acreage for the underlying policy, the lesser of 

the following, as determined by us: 

(i) The number of acres specified on your intended 

acreage report submitted to us by the sales 

closing date of the underlying policy or the 

number of acres submitted within 10 days of the 

date you acquire such acreage; or 

(ii) The actual acres planted at the time of the 

occurrence of the triggering event and reported 

on the current crop year acreage report for the 

underlying policy; or 

(2) If a loss is not triggered for your county before you 

report your acreage for the underlying policy, the 

number of planted insurable acres specified on your 

current crop year acreage report filed and accepted 

by us for the underlying policy. 

(b) For any subsequent crop year: 

(1) If a loss is triggered for your county before you report 

your acreage for the underlying policy, the actual 

acres planted but limited to our determination of the 

lesser of: 

(i) The number of acres planted at the time of the 

occurrence of the triggering event and reported 

on the acreage report of the underlying policy 

you filed for the current crop year; or 

(ii) The highest number of planted insurable acres in 

any one of the immediate past four crop years. 

(2) If a loss is not triggered for your county before you 

report your acreage for the underlying policy, the 

number of planted insurable acres specified on the 

acreage report filed and accepted by us on or before 

the acreage reporting date for the underlying policy. 

(c) If an acreage report is not required for the underlying 

policy, use the crop’s equivalent of an acreage report. 

For example, a Plant Inventory Value Report (PIVR) is 

required for the Nursery Crop Provisions instead of an 

acreage report; therefore, a PIVR is used in the same 

manner as an acreage report. 

5. Insurable Acreage, Inventory, and Unit Division 

(a) All eligible planted acreage or inventory of the crop 

(including perennial or nursery crops and insurable 

trees) in the county that is insured by the underlying 

policy must be insured under this Endorsement when 

all acreage or inventory of the crop is required to be 

insured by the underlying crop policy. Any crop acreage 

or inventory that is not insured by the underlying crop 

policy is not covered by this Endorsement. This 

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Endorsement will not insure prevented planting 

acreage. Any acreage planted in a planting period, as 

defined in the actuarial documents, after a qualifying 

event has triggered an indemnity payment for eligible 

acreage, will be insurable and eligible for an indemnity 

payment if a second qualifying event occurs. 

(b) In lieu of the provisions regarding units and unit division 

in the underlying policy, protection provided by this 

Endorsement will be based on all eligible planted 

acreage or inventory (including perennial or nursery 

crops and insurable trees) of the crop in the county 

insured by the underlying policy, regardless of whether 

such acreage or inventory is owned, rented for cash, or 

rented for a share of the crop, including acres on which 

you are insuring another person’s share of the crop. 

6. Hurricane Protection Amount 

(a) If there are multiple coverage levels, types, or practices 

for the insured crop in the county, your HPA will be 

determined separately for each coverage level, type, 

and practice and then summed for the crop. 

(b) To calculate your HPA for all eligible insured acres of the 

crop in the county with the same coverage level, type, 

practice, and SCO or STAX coverage insured by this 

Endorsement: 

(1) Determine your hurricane coverage range; 

(2) Determine the expected crop value by dividing the 

underlying policy liability for the eligible acres with 

the same coverage level, type, and practice by the 

underlying policy coverage level, as applicable, and 

then again by the percentage of price election or 

percentage of projected price, as applicable, of the 

underlying policy. When SCO or STAX coverage is 

in effect with the underlying policy, use only the 

liability and coverage level for the underlying policy, 

not the SCO or STAX liability or coverage level. Any 

adjustment in liability on the underlying crop policy 

will apply; 

(3) Multiply your expected crop value by your hurricane 

coverage range; and 

(4) Multiply the result of (3) by the coverage percentage 

elected by you. This is your HPA. 

(c) If you have elected SCO with your underlying policy, 

your HPA will not increase on a crop, practice, type, and 

farm number if you enrolled that farm number in ARC for 

that crop but failed to report that enrollment on your 

acreage report. If you have elected STAX with your 

underlying policy, your HPA will not increase on a crop, 

practice, type, and farm number if you enrolled that farm 

number in ARC or PLC for seed cotton and failed to 

report such enrollment on your acreage report. 

(d) For underlying policies with the amount of insurance not 

based on insured acres, to calculate your HPA for all of 

the crops in the county with the same coverage level, 

type, and practice, insured by this Endorsement: 

(1) Determine your hurricane coverage range; 

(2) Divide the underlying policy liability by the underlying 

policy coverage level, as applicable, and then again 

by the percentage of price election or percentage of 

projected price, as applicable, of the underlying 

policy to determine the expected crop value. 

(3) Multiply your expected crop value by your hurricane 

coverage range; and 

(4) Multiply the result of (3) by the coverage percentage 

elected by you. 

(e) For crop policies where protection is provided by this 

Endorsement based on all eligible inventory, if you 

increase inventory values above what you reported on 

the original report (e.g. PIVR or Nursery Value Report) 

at any point during the crop year by submitting a revised 

report (e.g., Peak Inventory Value Report or revised 

PIVR) allowable by the underlying policy, the value of 

HIP-WI will not increase, but will remain consistent with 

the coverage established at the beginning of the 

insurance period according to the original report for 

each planting period, where applicable, for the 

underlying policy. 

7. Annual Premium and Administrative Fee 

(a) You will owe a separate annual premium and 

administrative fee for this Endorsement, in addition to 

any administrative fee owed for the underlying policy. 

Only one HIP-WI administrative fee per insured crop, 

per county is owed. 

(b) Premium for this Endorsement is calculated by 

multiplying your HPA determined from section 6 by the 

premium rate and any premium adjustment 

percentages that may apply. All information needed to 

calculate the premium rate is contained in the actuarial 

documents. 

(c) The administrative fee for this Endorsement is 

determined in accordance with the provisions in section 

7(e) of the Basic Provisions. 

8. Causes of Loss 

(a) This Endorsement provides protection against 

widespread loss in the county, or adjacent county, due 

to sustained hurricane force winds. The county loss 

trigger will be determined from HDP and shown in the 

actuarial documents as determined by the Federal Crop 

Insurance Corporation (FCIC). 

(b) Individual farm yields and revenues are not considered 

under this Endorsement. It is possible that your 

individual farm may experience reduced revenue or 

reduced yield and you do not receive an indemnity 

under this Endorsement. 

(c) The notice provisions in section 14(b) of the Basic 

Provisions do not apply to this Endorsement. 

9. Settlement of Claim 

(a) An indemnity is due when the county loss trigger is 

identified for the insured county in the insurance period. 

Indemnities are calculated following the release by 

FCIC of any county that meets the county loss trigger. 

(b) The indemnity is equal to the HPA determined in section 

6. 

(c) In lieu of the provisions in section 14(f)(1) of the Basic 

Provisions, we will pay your loss under this 

Endorsement within 30 days after the later of: 

(1) The date FCIC releases the list of counties identified 

as meeting the county loss trigger; 

(2) The date you provide an acceptable acreage report; 

or 

(3) The conditions in Section 14(f)(2)-(4) of the Basic 

Provisions are met. 

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(d) Hurricane wind extent data may be updated by NOAA. 

FCIC may add counties that were not included in the 

initial county release by FCIC of the counties that met 

the county loss trigger following release of updated 

NOAA wind extent data for the applicable crop year. 

Once counties are listed by FCIC, they will not be 

removed even if later data indicates they did not meet 

the county loss trigger. 

10.[Reserved]

11.Written Agreements

(a) This Endorsement is available only when authorized by 

the actuarial documents for the crop, type, and practice 

in the county and cannot be made available through a 

Written Agreement. 

(b) This Endorsement is applicable when available on the 

actuarial documents when a Written Agreement applies 

to the underlying policy. 

12.Examples

The following are examples of the calculation of the HPA 

and HIP-WI indemnity for the plans of insurance that may 

be selected for the underlying policy. Your information will 

likely be different, and you should consult the actuarial 

documents in your county and the policy information. The 

following examples are for illustration purposes only. 

Producer A farms 100 acres of corn in county X and has an 

approved yield of 154.6 bushels per acre, with a 100 

percent share. The projected price is $4.00, as published in 

the actuarial documents for county X. The producer elects 

a HIP- WI coverage percentage of 0.90. (This information, 

with some changing variables, applies to the following 

examples.) 

Example for underlying policy with CAT coverage and HIP-WI 

election: 

Resulting liability for the underlying policy is $17,006 

Hurricane Protection Amount calculation: 

Step 1: Calculate hurricane coverage range. 

Formula: 95 percent minus the maximum coverage level 

from the underlying policy 

0.95 – 0.50 = 0.45 hurricane coverage range 

Step 2: Calculate the expected crop value of the underlying 

policy. 

Formula: Divide the liability of the underlying policy by the 

coverage level of the underlying policy, and then by the 

percentage of price election or percentage of projected 

price, as applicable to determine the expected crop value 

$17,006 ÷ 0.50 ÷ 0.55 = $61,840 expected crop value. 

Step 3: Calculate HPA. 

Multiply the expected crop value by the hurricane coverage 

range and the coverage percentage you elected under this 

Endorsement. 

$61,840 x 0.45 x 0.90 = $25,045 HPA. 

If FCIC determines the county meets the county loss trigger, 

the indemnity payment would be $25,045. 

Example for underlying policy with 70 percent coverage, 100 

percent of price, and HIP-WI election: 

Resulting liability for the underlying policy is $43,288. 

Hurricane Protection Amount calculation: 

Step 1: Calculate hurricane coverage range. 

Formula: 95 percent minus the maximum coverage level 

from the underlying policy. 

0.95 – 0.70 = 0.25 hurricane coverage range 

Step 2: Calculate the expected crop 

value of the underlying policy. 

Formula: Divide the liability of the underlying policy by the 

coverage level of the underlying policy, and then by the 

percentage of price election or percentage of projected 

price, as applicable of the underlying policy to determine 

the expected crop value. 

$43,288 ÷ 0.70 ÷ 1 = $61,840 expected crop value. 

Step 3: Calculate the HPA. 

Formula: Multiply the expected crop value of the underlying 

policy by the hurricane coverage range and the coverage 

percentage you elected under this Endorsement. 

$61,840 x 0.25 x 0.90 = $13,914 HPA. 

If FCIC determines the county meets the county loss 

trigger, the indemnity payment would be $13,914. 

Example for SCO election: 

Hurricane Protection amount calculation: 

Step 1: Calculate hurricane coverage range. 

Formula: 95 percent minus the higher of the coverage level 

from the underlying policy (70 percent) or the upper end of 

the SCO coverage range (86 percent). 

0.95 – 0.86 = 0.09 hurricane coverage range 

Step 2: Calculate the expected crop value of the underlying 

policy. 

Formula: Divide the liability of the underlying policy by the 

coverage level of the underlying policy, and then by the 

percentage of price election or percentage of projected 

price, as applicable of the underlying policy to determine 

the expected crop value. 

$43,288 ÷ 0.70 ÷ 1.00 = $61,840 expected crop value of 

the underlying policy. 

Step 3: Calculate the HPA. 

Formula: Multiply expected crop value of the underlying 

policy by the hurricane coverage range and the coverage 

percentage you elected under this Endorsement. 

$61,840 x 0.09 x .90 = $5,009 HPA. 

If FCIC determines the county meets the county loss 

trigger, the indemnity payment would be $5,009. 

Example for STAX election: 

The STAX coverage band ranges from 75 percent to 90 

percent. 

Hurricane Protection amount calculation: 

Step 1: Calculate hurricane coverage range. 

Formula: 95 percent minus the higher of the coverage level 

from the underlying policy (70 percent) or the upper end of 

the STAX coverage range (90 percent). 

0.95 – 0.90 = 0.05 hurricane coverage range 

Step 2: Calculate the expected crop value of the underlying 

policy. 

Formula: Divide the liability of the underlying policy by the 

coverage level of the underlying policy, and then by the 

percent of price election or percentage of projected price, 

as applicable of the underlying policy to determine the 

expected crop value. 

$43,288 ÷ 0.70 ÷ 1.00 = $61,840 expected crop value of 

the underlying policy with STAX. 

Step 3: Calculate the HPA. 

Formula: Multiply expected crop value of the underlying 

policy by the hurricane coverage range and the coverage 

percentage. 

$61,840 x 0.05 x 0.90 = $2,783 HPA. 

If FCIC determines the county meets the county loss 

trigger, the indemnity payment would be $2,783. 

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