Title 7
SECTION 400.768
400.768 FCIC obligations.
§ 400.768 FCIC obligations.(a) FCIC will not provide a final agency determination or FCIC interpretation for any request regarding, or that contains, specific factual information to situations or cases, such as acts or failures to act of any participant under the terms of a policy, procedure, or any reinsurance agreement.
(1) FCIC will not consider specific factual information to situations or cases in any final agency determination or FCIC interpretation.
(2) FCIC will not consider any examples or hypotheticals provided in your interpretation because those are fact-specific and could be construed as a finding of fact by FCIC. If an example or hypothetical is required to illustrate an interpretation, FCIC will provide the example in the interpretation.
(b) If, in the sole judgment of FCIC, the request is unclear, ambiguous, or incomplete, FCIC will not provide a final agency determination or FCIC interpretation, but will notify you within 30 days of the date of receipt by FCIC that the request is unclear, ambiguous, or incomplete.
(c) If FCIC notifies you that a request is unclear, ambiguous or incomplete under paragraph (b) of this section, the 90-day time period for FCIC to provide a response is stopped on the date FCIC notifies you. On the date FCIC receives a clear, complete, and unambiguous request, FCIC has the balance of the days remaining in the 90-day time period to provide a response to you. For example, FCIC receives a request for a final agency determination on January 10. On February 10, FCIC notifies you the request is unclear. On March 10, FCIC receives a clarified request that meets all requirements for FCIC to provide a final agency determination. FCIC has sixty days from March 10, the balance of the 90-day time period, to provide a response.
(d) FCIC reserves the right to modify the request if FCIC determines that a request for a final agency determination is really a request for a FCIC interpretation or vice versa.
(e) FCIC will provide you a written final agency determination or a FCIC interpretation within 90 days of the date of receipt for a request that meets all requirements in § 400.767.
(f) If FCIC does not provide a response within 90 days of receipt of a request, you may assume your interpretation is correct for the applicable crop year. However, your interpretation shall not be considered generally applicable and shall not be binding on any other program participants. Additionally, in the case of a joint request for a final agency determination or a FCIC interpretation, if FCIC does not provide a response within 90 days, neither party may assume their interpretations are correct.
(g) FCIC will publish all final agency determinations as specially numbered documents on the RMA website because they are generally applicable to all program participants.
(h) FCIC will not publish any FCIC interpretation because it is only applicable to the parties in the dispute. You are responsible for providing copies of the FCIC interpretation to all other parties.
(i) When issuing a final agency determination or a FCIC interpretation, FCIC will not evaluate the insured, insurance provider, agent, or loss adjuster as it relates to their performance of following FCIC policy provisions or procedures. Interpretations will not include any analysis of whether the insured, insurance provider, agent, or loss adjuster was in compliance with the policy provision or procedure in question.