American Agrisurance, Inc.
A defunct insurance-services subsidiary of Acceptance Insurance Companies Inc. ("AmAg") — the marketing and service affiliate of American Growers' federally reinsured crop insurance business. Filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Nebraska on January 7, 2005, alongside its parent's Chapter 11.
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- Location
- Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States
- Country
- United States
- Full name
- American Agrisurance, Inc.
- Also known as
- AmAg
- Type
- Insurance marketing and service company (non-insurance subsidiary)
- Parent
- Acceptance Insurance Companies Inc. (Council Bluffs, Iowa)
- Affiliate served
- American Growers Insurance / American Growers Insurance Company (federal crop insurer)
- Bankruptcy
- Chapter 7 liquidation, filed January 7, 2005, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska, Case No. 05-80058
- Status
- Defunct (liquidated under Chapter 7)
- Not to be confused with
- First Acceptance Corporation of Nashville, Tennessee (non-standard auto insurer; separate company entirely)
American Agrisurance, Inc.
American Agrisurance, Inc. — known inside its group as “AmAg” — was a non-insurance subsidiary of Acceptance Insurance Companies Inc. that marketed and serviced the group’s federally reinsured crop insurance business. It was not the underwriter: the Kentucky Supreme Court described it as “the marketing and service affiliate for American Growers’ crop insurance business,” while American Growers Insurance itself sold the multiple-peril crop insurance (MPCI) policies reinsured by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). It filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Nebraska on January 7, 2005, the same day its parent filed Chapter 11.
Role in the Acceptance insurance group
American Agrisurance’s function is defined in two appellate opinions. In Dailey v. American Growers Insurance and American Agrisurance, Inc. (Ky. 2003), a Kentucky tobacco farmer’s MPCI claim dispute, the court introduced the company as American Growers’ “marketing and service affiliate” — American Growers being, per that opinion, an Iowa corporation selling MPCI policies reinsured by the FCIC. Three years later, in FSS Potted Plants LLC v. American Agrisurance Inc. (Mich. Ct. App. 2006), a frost-coverage dispute, the court recorded that “Growers issued an insurance policy… American Agrisurance, Inc., marketed the policy,” and treated the plaintiffs’ description of Agrisurance as “the marketing arm of Growers” — the “marketing division for” Growers — as a principal-agent relationship binding it to the insurer’s arbitration.
The Troubled Company Reporter classified American Agrisurance as one of two “non-insurance company subsidiaries” of AICI, headquartered in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that filed alongside the parent.
2005 liquidation
On January 7, 2005, American Agrisurance filed a voluntary Chapter 7 liquidation petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska (Case No. 05-80058), the same day sister company Acceptance Insurance Services, Inc. filed Chapter 7 (05-80056) and parent AICI filed Chapter 11 (05-80059). AICI listed $33,069,446 in assets and $137,120,541 in debts — parent-company figures, not Agrisurance’s own.
AICI chief executive John E. Martin said the filings by “AICI, AIS and AmAg” did “not involve Acceptance Insurance Company,” which would remain under the Nebraska Department of Insurance’s supervision. The background was the collapse of the crop business: NDOI had issued an Order of Supervision to American Growers in November 2002 after the USDA Risk Management Agency blocked its sale to Rain and Hail LLC.
FAQ
Was American Agrisurance an insurance company? No — it was a non-insurance subsidiary. The insurer was American Growers Insurance (the MPCI underwriter); Agrisurance marketed and serviced that business.
Is this the same “Acceptance Insurance” as the Nashville auto insurer? No. First Acceptance Corporation of Nashville, Tennessee (non-standard auto insurer, consumer brand “Acceptance Insurance”) is an entirely separate company. American Agrisurance belonged to Acceptance Insurance Companies Inc. of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Why did the group file for bankruptcy? The Troubled Company Reporter traced the collapse to the 2002 failure of the crop insurance business — the NDOI supervision order, the blocked sale of the crop book, and the resulting Chapter 11/Chapter 7 filings in January 2005.
What happened to the Chapter 7 case? Case No. 05-80058 was a liquidation petition in the District of Nebraska. The trustee’s disposition and closing date are not in the public sources read for this profile.
What this profile does not claim
- It does not state American Agrisurance’s founding date, state of incorporation, or financial figures — none were verified.
- The parent AICI’s $33M/$137M asset-and-debt figures are not Agrisurance’s own and are not attributed to it.
- It does not assert the trustee’s outcome or closing date for the Chapter 7 case.
- The Iowa-corporation description of American Growers comes from the 2003 Kentucky opinion; the Eighth Circuit’s 2009 opinion calls the underwriter a Nebraska corporation. This profile reports both as their sources state them and does not speculate on a re-domestication.
Timeline
- 2002
- The Nebraska Department of Insurance issues an Order of Supervision to Acceptance's crop insurance subsidiary, American Growers Insurance Company, in November 2002; before that, the crop book's proposed sale to Rain and Hail LLC is blocked by the USDA Risk Management Agency.
- 2003
- The Kentucky Supreme Court, in Dailey v. American Growers Insurance and American Agrisurance, Inc., describes Agrisurance as "the marketing and service affiliate for American Growers' crop insurance business" (opinion rendered April 24, 2003).
- 2005
- American Agrisurance, Inc. files a voluntary Chapter 7 liquidation petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska (Case No. 05-80058) on January 7, 2005, the same day sister company Acceptance Insurance Services, Inc. files Chapter 7 (05-80056) and parent AICI files Chapter 11 (05-80059).
- 2006
- The Michigan Court of Appeals, in FSS Potted Plants LLC v. American Agrisurance Inc., describes Agrisurance as "the marketing arm of Growers" and treats it as the agent/principal of the insurer for res-judicata purposes (February 2, 2006).
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Founding date and state of incorporation of American Agrisurance, Inc. could not be verified in available sources and are not stated here.
- Agrisurance's own assets, liabilities, or creditor schedule at the Chapter 7 filing were not published; only the parent AICI's figures ($33,069,446 in assets, $137,120,541 in debts) are on record — they are not attributed to Agrisurance.
- The trustee's disposition and closing date of Case No. 05-80058 are not in the public sources read; PACER would hold them.
- The brief's note that the Kentucky caption uses "American Growers Insurance" (an Iowa corporation per that opinion) while the Eighth Circuit names "American Growers Insurance Company" (a Nebraska corporation) reflects the sources as written; whether the entity was re-domesticated between the cases is unverified and not asserted.
Sources
3 sources (2 tier 1, 1 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Every fact in this profile comes from the three sources above, each read in full. The profile states only what the sources support: no founding date, incorporation state, or asset figures for Agrisurance itself are given because none were found.
- Peter R. Dailey, III v. American Growers Insurance and American Agrisurance, Inc. (2001-SC-0364-DG) Tier 1Supports: Functional definition ("marketing and service affiliate"), American Growers as Iowa MPCI writer reinsured by FCIC Open original source
- Supports: "Marketing arm of Growers" description, Agrisurance marketed the policies at issue, principal-agent treatment Open original source
- Supports: Chapter 7 filing details (case number, date, sister/parent filings), John E. Martin's statement, 2002 supervision order and blocked Rain and Hail sale Open original source
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