Aon and SAGE Plan Field-Level Crop Insurance Pricing for 2027

Aon and agricultural risk intelligence company SAGE are preparing a crop insurance program that would price some coverage using conditions at individual fields. The planned U.S. offering, developed with agricultural captive insurer AgriCap, is intended for corn and soybean growers in 15 states for the 2027 crop year. The companies haven’t named the states.

The design addresses a mismatch in how risk is measured: federal crop coverage is priced around average risk across a county, while conditions can differ substantially from one field to another. A field-level model could give insurers a more granular basis for pricing and give growers a way to insure production beyond their existing coverage. Whether the finer data leads to lower premiums will depend on each farm’s assessed risk and the terms ultimately offered.

Coverage would sit above existing policies

The proposed policies are meant to supplement federal crop insurance, not replace it. A farmer could insure a portion of expected production through existing coverage, then consider a SAGE policy for additional protection above that amount. This structure makes the program relevant to growers seeking more coverage while keeping their existing policy in place.

The potential price difference is one of the clearest figures disclosed so far. Aon’s modeling suggests some growers could save $10 to $15 an acre on the additional coverage, Progressive Farmer reported. That estimate applies to some growers and to supplemental coverage; it isn’t a stated saving for every farm or for a complete crop insurance package. The companies haven’t provided enough detail to establish how widely the modeled savings might apply.

The broader market context is substantial: the source reports that federal crop insurance covers nearly 90% of U.S. corn and soybean acreage. If a field-based product can be offered alongside that established coverage, its reach will depend on how the new prices compare with growers’ current options and whether the added protection fits their production risks.

Field data is the central underwriting proposition

SAGE says its AI models combine data on soil, water, weather and human interaction to identify patterns tied to risk and resilience. The company says those models use billions of data points. The practical claim is that insurers may be able to distinguish among fields that county averages treat similarly, even when their conditions and exposure differ.

That distinction matters to both sides of the insurance transaction. Growers whose practices or field conditions reduce exposure may want those differences reflected in the price of additional coverage. Insurers, in turn, need evidence they can use consistently to assess risk and support underwriting. A finer measure could help connect the two, though the announced program details don’t explain how the model weighs each input, how pricing will be reviewed, or how growers can challenge an assessment.

The initiative has also been tested through the Resilience in Agricultural Lending and Insurance Coalition, or RALIC. Its pilot covers more than one million agricultural acres, representing approximately 12% of Michigan farmland. Funding came in part from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. That pilot provides a sizeable base of acreage for the project, but the source doesn’t say how many farms participated or what results the pilot produced.

“With this new approach, we can translate what is happening on the land into risk signals that the insurance market can understand and act upon,” said Jonathan Sherrill, senior vice president with Aon’s Agriculture Resilience Center. Sherrill added that making resilience visible could allow it to be underwritten and support capital behind it.

Adoption will depend on terms and trust in the model

SAGE CEO and co-founder Bill Veghte said farmers have long recognized differences among fields, while measuring those differences at scale has been difficult for the insurance industry. Robert Bonnie, a SAGE co-founder and former USDA official, described field-level information as a way to reward investments in resilience through crop coverage options.

For growers, the key questions will become concrete as the 2027 sign-up period approaches: which states are included, how premiums compare with available coverage, what risks the policies cover, and how the field assessments affect eligibility and terms. The announced $10 to $15 per-acre estimate gives a sense of the possible value, but it doesn’t answer those questions across different farms.

The approach sits within wider agricultural interest in AI. McKinsey’s Global Farmer Insights 2026 report says about 17% of the world’s farmers now use generative AI for farm-related tasks. That figure describes use in agriculture generally; it doesn’t measure adoption of insurance pricing models.

Aon and SAGE say growers and insurance agents can find details ahead of the spring 2027 sign-up period at sage.ag. The next meaningful evidence will be the program’s state availability, policy terms and actual pricing. Those details will show whether field-level assessment can translate into useful coverage choices for growers whose risks differ from county averages.