WeatherBill Rangeland Drought Protection Offers Ranchers Unprecedented Coverage

Weather protection now available nationwide for rangeland

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15, 2009 – WeatherBill, the leading provider of weather-related risk management coverage, today announced the release of Rangeland Drought Protection, which gives ranchers across the country the ability to protect themselves from the negative financial impacts of extended periods of dry weather. WeatherBill Rangeland Drought Protection pays for low rainfall allowing growers to limit losses due to withered rangeland, rising hay and feed costs and smaller herds.

WeatherBill’s Rangeland Drought Protection uses the same weather data as the federal crop insurance Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) program, and functions the same way, but with significantly more flexibility. WeatherBill’s Rangeland Drought Protection can be fully customized: ranchers can choose any protected period that is thirty days or longer, they do not have to buy multiple periods (as required by the federal program), they can choose any coverage amount per acre and they can opt to include Storm Protection in their coverage, which ensures that a rancher’s qualified rainfall will not all come from a single storm.  And as opposed to the federal program, WeatherBill’s Rangeland Drought Protection is available in every county in the continental United States.

Jeff Hamlin, Director of Product Marketing at WeatherBill said, “Ranchers across the country face financial hardship when dry weather limits forage production on the land they use to graze their herds.  They have to pay for supplemental feed, pay rent on unproductive land and in cases of severe drought, even cull their herd and sell animals at a loss. This program gives ranchers the financial protection that they need.”

WeatherBill’s Rangeland Drought Protection allows ranchers in states and counties that are excluded from the federal program to get access to coverage that they have never had before, and it allows ranchers in covered counties to supplement their federal policies to get the higher levels of coverage that are not available through the federal program. Crop insurance agents and ranchers can visit www.weatherbill.com for a fast, easy quote.

WeatherBill offers affordable, accessible, easy-to-purchase insurance policies to consumers and businesses that are impacted by weather. WeatherBill enables the agriculture, outdoor events, travel, snow removal, ski, energy and public works industries to manage their weather risk by protecting revenue and controlling costs. There is no unnecessary paperwork, no claims process and no waiting for payment. WeatherBill is the only service that enables customers to customize, price and buy weather insurance online in just minutes – and get paid if bad weather happens.