§2. Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index endorsement
This section establishes data requirements for determining county eligibility for indemnity payments under the Hurricane Insurance Protection–Wind Index endorsement (HIP–WI)—an index-based crop insurance product for hurricane wind damage established in 2020 by the Risk Management Agency—beginning with crop year 2027. Specifically, the Secretary of Agriculture must use (1) the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) data set from NOAA or (2) an alternative data set compiled by the Secretary using data from National Weather Service-compliant weather stations at land-grant colleges or universities if IBTrACS data is incomplete and a county or adjacent county weather station or data source is damaged or provides incomplete data; the alternative data set must be made publicly available on the Department's HIP–WI website. The section further directs the Secretary to issue implementing regulations and revise related guidance within 180 days of enactment.