The Virginia Cattlemen’s Association (VCA) has launched the Virginia Cattlemen’s Insurance Agency LLC (VCIA). Virginia Cattlemen’s Insurance Agency LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of VCA. The agency was formed to continue advancing the association’s purpose of improving the conditions and efficiency of farmers and ranchers involved in cattle production.
By focusing on cattle-related insurance products, VCA believes that the agency will provide the association with a way to educate cattle producers and provide them with a simple, efficient way to purchase risk management protection.
Virginia Cattlemen’s Insurance Agency will focus primarily on offering Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) and Pasture, Range and Forage (PRF) insurance. LRP provides price protection by allowing cattle producers to protect against unexpected market declines. PRF insurance provides protection against the lack of rainfall for land that is grazed or used to make hay. Information about LRP and PRF will be made available to VCA members on the VCA website, through email, and through handouts. LRP policies are made available every day after markets close. PRF policies were offered beginning Sept. 1 and will be offered through the sales closing date on Dec. 1.
When VCA began to develop the idea of offering insurance as a risk protection tool for producers, the board consulted with former Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) Administrator Brandon Willis to help guide them through the process of establishing an agency. Willis, who now runs his own livestock insurance business in Utah, continues to help advise and consult with VCA.
Currently, Brandon Reeves, the Executive Director of VCA, is the sole insurance agent for VCIA, but VCIA will be exploring the possibility of bringing on additional agents in the future. The agency has been approved to begin writing policies under Rain & Hail’s Atlantic Coast Division.
VCA President Jason Pratt said, “VCA continues to look for ways that we can better serve our membership and all Virginia cattle producers. We see risk protection as an incredibly important tool producers should consider to hedge against a volatile market, and I am excited that we are now able to offer these products to help our producers.”
Anyone interested in learning more about Virginia Cattlemen’s Insurance Agency LLC can visit the VCA website at www.vacattlemen.org or contact Brandon Reeves by email at breeves@vacattlemen.org or by phone at 540.280.8805.
The Virginia Cattlemen’s Association was organized in 1944 and chartered in 1953 to promote the profit potential of Virginia’s cattle industry.
