State Senator Patrick Joyce supported a new law signed Friday that will strengthen regulations for farm mutual insurance companies.

Prior to this new law, the Illinois Department of Insurance required unlimited catastrophic aggregate reinsurance coverage. Currently, only one company offers contracts that meet the DOI’s requirements, and as a result, many farm mutual insurance companies struggle to find reinsurance coverage.

Farm mutual insurance companies will now be required to have and maintain adequate catastrophic reinsurance rather than unlimited catastrophic reinsurance.

This change ensures farm mutual insurance companies and their policyholders can continue to be protected from financial losses in the event of a natural disaster or other costly incident. Senate Bill 765 was signed Friday and takes effect immediately.