Cricket Farm Crop Insurance: Can You Insure Cricket Production Losses?
USDA Risk Management Agency does not yet offer a specific cricket production insurance policy; private alternatives exist. That gap leaves most cricket farm operators completely uninsured against the production losses that are, statistically, the most likely financial disaster they'll face: a die-off from a heating failure, a disease event, or a weather-related incident.
This guide covers what insurance products are available for cricket farms, what they cover, what they don't, and how to fill the coverage gap with the options that actually exist.
TL;DR
- As of 2026, FCIC has not developed a specific policy for cricket or insect farming production.
- The premium is based on your historical revenue (typically 3-5 years of Schedule F data), and the program pays when your actual revenue falls below your insured revenue level due to covered causes.
- USDA Risk Management Agency does not yet offer a specific cricket production insurance policy; private alternatives exist.
- WFRP insures whole farm revenue against loss, including from novel commodities not covered by traditional FCIC policies.
- If your operation produces income from multiple sources, WFRP may be able to cover your total farm revenue including cricket sales.
- WFRP is not perfect for cricket farms - it doesn't cover the replacement cost of stock lost to a single die-off event, only a broader revenue shortfall.
- Writing a policy for millions of low-value individual crickets requires a carrier willing to treat the production batch as the insured unit rather than individual animals.
The USDA FCIC Situation
The USDA Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) insures agricultural production against covered losses for a wide range of crops and livestock. As of 2026, FCIC has not developed a specific policy for cricket or insect farming production.
FCIC does cover several adjacent categories that don't directly apply to most cricket operations:
- Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage
- Livestock risk protection for cattle, swine, and some other species
- Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
Whole Farm Revenue Protection: This is the most relevant FCIC product for cricket farmers. WFRP insures whole farm revenue against loss, including from novel commodities not covered by traditional FCIC policies. If your operation produces income from multiple sources, WFRP may be able to cover your total farm revenue including cricket sales. The premium is based on your historical revenue (typically 3-5 years of Schedule F data), and the program pays when your actual revenue falls below your insured revenue level due to covered causes.
WFRP is not perfect for cricket farms - it doesn't cover the replacement cost of stock lost to a single die-off event, only a broader revenue shortfall. But it's the only FCIC option with meaningful relevance to most cricket operations.
Private Livestock Mortality Insurance
Several private insurance carriers offer livestock mortality coverage that can be adapted to insect production with the right underwriter. The key is finding a carrier who will write a policy for an insect farm, which requires some effort since most livestock mortality products are designed for traditional livestock.
What livestock mortality insurance covers: The death of covered animals due to specified perils - fire, lightning, electrocution, accident, vandalism, and sometimes disease and mechanical breakdown (heating failure, for example). The coverage is typically on the market value of the animals at the time of loss.
The cricket farm application challenge: Traditional livestock mortality policies are designed for individually valuable animals (horses, exotic livestock). Writing a policy for millions of low-value individual crickets requires a carrier willing to treat the production batch as the insured unit rather than individual animals. Some specialty agriculture insurers do write this type of policy - you'll need to work with an independent agricultural insurance broker to find them.
Key questions to ask a potential carrier:
- Does your policy cover insect livestock specifically?
- Is coverage available for a "batch loss" event (high-mortality die-off of a production cohort)?
- What perils are covered? Does mechanical breakdown (heating system failure) qualify?
- How is the value of the covered stock determined?
- What documentation is required to file a claim? (Production records from CricketOps are typically the key supporting document)
Business Interruption Insurance
Business interruption insurance covers lost revenue when your operation is shut down due to a covered event (fire, equipment failure, etc.) even if the underlying physical loss is covered by a separate property or liability policy.
For a cricket farm, business interruption insurance protects against the scenario where a heating system fire damages your facility and forces you to stop production for several weeks. The property damage is covered by your commercial property insurance; the revenue you lose during the shutdown period is covered by business interruption.
This coverage is typically added as a rider to a commercial property insurance policy. Ask your property insurance broker specifically about business interruption coverage that would cover a cricket farm shutdown.
Commercial Property Insurance
Your facility, equipment, and physical assets should be covered by commercial property insurance regardless of whether you can insure your stock. Commercial property policies cover fire, water damage, theft, and other physical perils to your building and equipment.
At minimum, every commercial cricket farm should have:
- Commercial property coverage for the building (if owned) or improvements (if leased)
- Equipment breakdown coverage for HVAC and processing equipment
- Commercial general liability
Equipment breakdown coverage is particularly valuable for cricket farms because HVAC failure is a leading cause of production loss. A policy that covers the cost of emergency repair or replacement of heating/cooling equipment can prevent a production loss even if the livestock mortality itself isn't insured.
Building an Insurance Program for Your Cricket Farm
Given the current gaps in purpose-built cricket farm insurance, a practical program might combine:
- USDA WFRP (if you have the revenue history to qualify) for broad revenue protection
- Commercial property insurance for your facility and equipment
- Equipment breakdown rider specifically covering HVAC systems
- Business interruption insurance for revenue loss during covered shutdowns
- Commercial general liability for customer and visitor liability
Work with an independent agricultural insurance broker who has experience with specialty livestock or aquaculture operations - these are the brokers most likely to have carrier relationships that can adapt to insect farming.
The production records you maintain in CricketOps are your primary claim documentation for any livestock mortality or business interruption claim. Detailed records showing what was in production, at what life stage, and what the expected value was give you the documentation basis for a claim that a carrier can evaluate. See also the cricket farm insurance guide for more on the insurance landscape for cricket operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get insurance for cricket farm production losses?
Not through a dedicated USDA FCIC cricket production policy - that doesn't exist yet. But you have several partial options: USDA Whole Farm Revenue Protection can cover a broad revenue shortfall that might include cricket production losses; private livestock mortality insurance from specialty carriers can sometimes be written to cover batch losses on insect farms (you'll need an independent agricultural insurance broker to find a carrier willing to write this); and equipment breakdown coverage on a commercial property policy can cover the repair costs for the heating failure that often causes production losses in the first place. Building a combination of these coverages provides more protection than any single product.
What does livestock mortality insurance cover for a cricket farm?
Traditional livestock mortality insurance covers the death of covered animals due to specified perils - typically fire, lightning, electrocution, accident, and sometimes disease. The challenge for cricket farms is that standard livestock mortality products are designed for individually valuable animals, not for batch production of low-value insects. Some specialty agricultural insurers will write a modified policy that treats the production batch as the insured unit rather than individual crickets. Coverage is typically limited to specified perils rather than all-cause mortality, which means a die-off from an unspecified cause (disease, environmental stress) may not be covered. Ask your broker specifically about what perils are included and whether heating system failure qualifies.
Is there a USDA program that covers insect farm production losses?
USDA's Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) is the most relevant existing FCIC product for insect farmers. It insures whole farm revenue against loss, including from novel commodities, and calculates the insured revenue level based on your historical Schedule F data. It's not a direct replacement for a crop-specific policy - it covers a revenue shortfall across your whole operation, not a specific die-off event - but it's the only FCIC product that can provide meaningful coverage for a cricket farm under current programs. USDA is aware of the insect farming industry's growth and has been exploring dedicated coverage options; check with your local USDA Farm Service Agency office for the most current status.
How does CricketOps help track the metrics described in this article?
CricketOps provides bin-level logging for the variables that drive production outcomes -- feed inputs, environmental conditions, mortality events, and harvest results. Rather than maintaining these records in separate spreadsheets, you can view performance trends across bins and over time to identify which operational variables correlate with better outcomes in your specific facility.
Where can I find industry benchmarks to compare my operation's performance?
The North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA) publishes periodic industry reports with production benchmarks. University extension programs in agricultural states, including the University of Georgia and University of Florida IFAS, occasionally publish insect farming production data. Industry conferences hosted by the Entomological Society of America and the Insects to Feed the World symposium series are additional sources of peer benchmarking data.
What is the biggest operational mistake cricket farmers make in their first year?
Expanding bin count before achieving consistent FCR and mortality targets in existing bins is the most common and costly first-year mistake. At 5-10 bins, problems are manageable. At 30-50 bins, the same proportional problems represent much larger financial losses. Most experienced cricket farmers recommend holding expansion until you have three consecutive production cycles hitting your FCR and mortality targets.
Sources
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) -- Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security
- North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA)
- Entomological Society of America
- University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
- Journal of Insects as Food and Feed (Wageningen Academic Publishers)
Get Started with CricketOps
The practices covered in this article are easier to apply consistently when they are supported by organized production data. CricketOps gives cricket farmers the tools to track what matters -- by bin, by batch, and over time. Start your next production cycle in CricketOps and see how organized data changes the way you manage your operation.