Crop Insurance Premium Estimator
Estimate crop insurance premiums from APH yield, coverage level, projected price, and subsidy rates. See how premiums change with coverage.
About this calculator
Federal crop insurance premiums build up through a chain of multiplications: APH Yield sets your proven production baseline, Coverage Level determines what share of that baseline is guaranteed, and Projected Price converts the guaranteed yield into a dollar Revenue Guarantee per acre. Multiplying that by Insured Acres gives Total Liability, and Premium Rate (which reflects your county's underlying risk) turns liability into a Gross Premium. What you actually pay — Your Premium (after subsidy) — comes from subtracting the federal Government Subsidy from that gross figure, so raising the subsidy percentage lowers your out-of-pocket cost while every other input listed here raises it. Acres, Coverage Level, and Premium Rate each move Your Premium roughly in proportion to how much they change, since they compound multiplicatively through the liability calculation.
The Example Indemnity figure illustrates what a payout would look like if actual yield fell to 65% of your APH — a fixed illustrative scenario chosen to produce a nonzero payout across the coverage levels this tool's own helpText calls common (70-80%), not a prediction of any particular year's outcome. At or below 65% Coverage Level the scenario's yield shortfall — and therefore the indemnity — is zero, since the fixed 65%-of-APH yield never actually falls below a guarantee that low. Because subsidy rates, premium rates, and projected prices are set annually by the USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) -- whose own published description of the Yield Protection and Revenue Protection plans this calculator's mechanics mirror -- and vary by crop, county, and coverage level, treat the results here as a planning estimate to sanity-check against your actual policy quote, not a substitute for it.
Inputs
Results
Your Premium (after subsidy)
$10,770.97
Figures current as of 2026. Source: USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA), "Insurance Plans"
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your APH (actual production history) yield in bushels per acre and select a coverage level (50-85%).
- Input the projected price per bushel and total insured acres.
- Set the premium rate and government subsidy percentage for your county.
- Review your premium after subsidy, premium per acre, and total liability.
- Check the yield and revenue guarantees, plus the example indemnity payment if actual yield falls to 65% of APH.
How the result changes with Government Subsidy
| Government Subsidy | Your Premium (after subsidy) |
|---|---|
| 28% | $17,233.56 |
| 41% | $14,121.95 |
| 80% | $4,787.10 |
What each input means
- APH Yield
- Your Actual Production History (APH) yield in bushels per acre. This is your proven average.
- Coverage Level
- Percentage of APH yield guaranteed. Higher coverage = higher premium. Common: 70-80%.
- Projected Price
- RMA projected price for the crop year. Set during discovery period (Feb for corn/soy).
- Insured Acres
- Total acres enrolled in the insurance policy.
- Premium Rate
- Base premium rate as a percentage of liability. Varies by county and risk. Typically 3-10%.
- Government Subsidy
- Federal premium subsidy percentage. 75% coverage gets ~55% subsidy; 85% gets ~38% subsidy.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters6 parametersAPH Yield = 180, Coverage Level = 75, Projected Price = 5.91, Insured Acres = 500, Premium Rate = 6, Government Subsidy = 55 = 6 input(s) provided
- Calculate Your PremiumYour Premium10770.97 = $10,770.97
- Calculate Premium per AcrePremium per Acre21.54 = $21.54
- Calculate Yield GuaranteeYield Guarantee135 = 135
Figures and sources
- APH-based Yield Protection / Revenue Protection insurance plan mechanics (coverage level, projected price, premium subsidy) (2026) — USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA), "Insurance Plans"
Engine last updated . Checked against 1 independently-derived test — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does raising my subsidy percentage lower my premium?
Your Premium (after subsidy) is the Gross Premium minus the subsidy amount, so a higher Government Subsidy percentage directly reduces what you pay out of pocket for the same coverage. Federal subsidy rates are typically higher at lower coverage levels and step down as coverage rises, which is why higher coverage often costs proportionally more even before considering the larger guarantee.
Does insuring more acres always cost proportionally more?
Yes — Insured Acres multiplies directly into Total Liability and therefore into Gross Premium and Your Premium, so doubling acres roughly doubles the premium for the same per-acre risk profile. This calculator doesn't model any acreage-based discount or administrative fee structure some programs apply.
What does the Example Indemnity number actually represent?
It's an illustrative payout calculated for one specific scenario: actual yield falling to 65% of your APH Yield. It shows how the yield shortfall below your guarantee translates into a dollar payment at your Projected Price and Insured Acres — it is not a probability-weighted estimate of what you're likely to receive in any given year. At Coverage Levels of 65% or below, this scenario's yield never drops below the guarantee, so the example correctly shows $0.
Why do coverage level and premium rate both raise my premium?
Coverage Level sets what percentage of your APH yield is guaranteed, so a higher percentage increases both your protection and your Total Liability, which raises the premium base. Premium Rate is a separate risk-based percentage applied to that liability, reflecting your county's historical loss experience — raising either input increases Gross Premium proportionally.
Should I use this instead of getting a real quote from my insurance agent?
No — this estimates premiums using the same general mechanics as federal crop insurance (APH yield, coverage level, projected price, premium rate, and subsidy) described in USDA RMA's own published Insurance Plans overview, but actual RMA premium rates, subsidy percentages, and projected prices are set annually by county, crop, and coverage level. Use this to understand the moving parts and sanity-check a quote, not as a replacement for your actual policy figures.
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