King Crop Insurance began in 1967 when Reese King learned of an opportunity with the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation out of Washington, DC. He and his wife Catherine decided to open the first crop insurance agency in Sussex County. It started in an office on a 100 acre farm they owned in Laurel, DE. Reese began the business serving neighbors and a network of farmers he knew in the county with a strong belief in the future of crop insurance.

In 1972 Reese died and Catherine decided to continue with the business. She often brought her two youngest daughters along with her when visiting area farms. Jackie learned the business from the ground up answering phones, stuffing envelopes, filing and eagerly doing any task delegated. Jackie knew she wanted to stay involved in farming. She graduated from the University of Delaware majoring in Agriculture. After graduation Jackie worked for a regional crop insurance office in Winston-Salem, NC. In 1987 she returned to Delaware and entered the family business as a partner with Catherine.

Catherine retired in 2003 after 36 years of working with crop insurance. King Crop Insurance, Inc. has expanded and now serves the entire state of Delaware and several counties in Maryland.

In April 2006, Jackie invited her sister Nancy to join her in the family business. Over the years the crop insurance program has added more insurable crops, additional plans, and levels of coverage. With the financial uncertainties and volatilities facing today’s farmer, crop insurance is more important than ever. The USDA’s federal crop insurance program continues to offer a risk management tool to farmers which can be specifically tailored to the farmer’s individual needs. Crop insurance enables farmers to borrow money to expand and improve their businesses by providing lenders the assurance that farmers will have sufficient economic security to repay loans. It also provides the security that enables farmers to forward market their crops to take advantage of market opportunities.

Without a strong crop insurance program, uncontrollable changes in weather could undermine the financial security of individual farmers and place the entire farm economy in jeopardy. King Crop Insurance started in 1967 with a strong belief in the future of crop insurance and continues to believe in the value of the program as it serves neighbors and the network of farmers on Delmarva.