Axa XL exits US crop insurance business with sale of Global Ag unit

Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. of Iowa said Thursday it has acquired Global Ag Insurance Services LLC from commercial and specialty insurer Axa XL, a unit of Axa SA.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The sale represents Axa’s exit from the U.S. crop insurance business, according to an email from a company spokeswoman. “This was our only program in that market,” she said.

Fresno, California-based Global Ag offers crop insurance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture multi-peril crop insurance program, as well as specialty private and named peril products, Des Moines, Iowa-based Farmers Mutual said in its statement.

Shannon Rutledge, Farmers Mutual President and CEO, said in the statement that the acquisition helps the insurer expand its national footprint.

Jordan Roach, CEO of Global Ag, said in the statement that agricultural producers are showing increased demand for specialty crop risk management.