Farmers based in the Canadian Prairies continue to insure their crops for hail damage at near record levels – a year-end report by the Canadian Crop Hail Association (CCHA) has revealed.
CCHA noted in its report that while 2020 was below the five-year average for claims, it still saw higher-than-average claim payments. In Western Canada, there were over 12,100 crop hail damage claims that led to insurance payouts of over $192 million, the report found. It also revealed that producer premiums in the region totaled just over $300 million for an industry loss ratio of 64%.
By comparison, CCHA member companies paid $242 million on 16,000 claims in 2019.
Although the number of storm days in some parts of the Prairies was below average during 2020’s summer season, CCHA noted that the severity of storms made up for the drop in frequency.
Among specific provinces, Alberta was the hardest hit by crop damage, CCHA said. The province saw an industry loss ratio of 83% in 2020 – a repeat of its considerable losses in 2019. CCHA attributes this to 2020 having similar storm activity as 2019.
The report also noted that Saskatchewan saw a 65% loss ratio in 2020, down from 95% in 2019. Meanwhile, Manitoba posted a 29% loss ratio last year, an improvement from its 93% loss ratio in 2019.
