Saskatchewan leads in hail damage claims at mid-year

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Farmers in Saskatchewan have reported the most damage from hail storms so far this year with nearly 7,000 claims filed with Canadian Crop Hail Association member companies, according to mid-year data.

In total, CCHA companies have received more than 10,000 claims across Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and have completed processing on 46 percent of those.

Claim activity in Manitoba is down somewhat over the 5-year average while Alberta and Saskatchewan are up slightly, said Rick Omelchenko, CCHA president. Claims are on a similar pace to 2018, which saw more than 11,000 filed by the end of the year. The hail season ends in October.

“CCHA member companies have been working hard to support farmers across western Canada this summer,” Omelchenko said. “We’ve processed nearly half of the claims already and that means farmers can rest assured they will have the capital they need to continue growing the high-quality affordable food that Canada, and the world, relies on next season.”

CCHA members continue to gather claims data. The most recent approximate numbers show:

  • Alberta: 2,000 claims
  • Manitoba: 1,300 claims
  • Saskatchewan: 6,900 claims

Hail damage is not the only factor farmers must contend with as they approach harvest, Omelchenko said.

“Harvest might be better in Manitoba with the decrease in hail claims but extremely wet weather in some places and extremely dry weather in other provinces will also have an impact on harvest volumes,” Omelchenko said. “We know how hard our farmers work to grow a great crop and we are honored to support them with hail coverage that reduces the risk they face from Mother Nature each season.”

Storm activity between July 27 and Aug. 6 generally continued to decrease though some places recorded baseball-size hail.

Farmers in the three western provinces made 900 claims so far during that time period with reports still being received.

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The Canadian Crop Hail Association (CCHA) has been serving the crop insurance industry since 1915. It is a member-driven organization that represents the interests of the Canadian Crop Hail managing general agencies and insurance companies. Our companies service agriculture producers in the western prairies. These private and government organizations together provide a risk management tool to the Western Canadian prairie farmer. Members are Additional Municipal Hail Ltd. (Saskatchewan), Ag Direct Hail Insurance Ltd, Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (Alberta), Canadian Hail Agencies Inc., Co-operative Hail Insurance Company, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation, Palliser Insurance Company Ltd. and Rain and Hail Insurance Service Ltd.