Replies to post #2772 on Grains Oilseeds

[johnlw]

Hail claims off the chart

Cassandra Kyle
The StarPhoenix

Friday, August 01, 2008

More than 10,000 hail insurance claims have been filed in Saskatchewan this summer, a figure two times higher than claims filed at the end of July 2007.

The Canadian Crop Hail Association's (CCHA) hail report, released Thursday, explains severe storms between July 6 and July 11 caused the most extensive damage to crops in the province. So many claims have been made in past weeks, the agency says, adjusters are trying to sort through a backlog of damage reports while new claims from isolated storms continue to trickle into regional hail insurance offices.

"I'm not even too sure if we have data that we could match up that says it's ever been this high," said Greg Reidy, CCHA chair. "In talking to members in our association, there's no question that they're busier than they can remember."

The influx of claims are keeping every available adjuster in the three Prairie provinces busy, said Reidy. With a lower than average season so far for hail claims in Manitoba, adjusters from that province are assisting with work in Alberta. A few adjusters from the two other provinces are also helping to carry the workload in Saskatchewan, he said.

"For the normal amount of claims, and even above the normal amount of claims, we have enough staff to handle that. But when you have those type of numbers hit all at once -- particularly in early July -- the insurers have had to react pretty quickly," he said.

Some crops may recover

While Reidy said it's still difficult to say how much overall damage summer storms have caused this season, hail has caused everything from the destruction of producers' entire fields to a bit of damage in a small area. Because the storms happened in early July, he added, some crops may well have time to recover from any damage sustained thus far.

Hail insurance adjusters are hoping for a couple of weeks of sunshine so they can catch up with all their work, Reidy said.

"It would be nice to have a couple of weeks of hot and dry weather to allow the adjusters to kind of get through the backlog of claims," he said.

August may bring those insurance adjusters the break they're hoping for, according to Environment Canada. Bob Cormier, a Saskatoon-based meteorologist with the federal weather agency, says August temperatures are forecast to be higher than average, while precipitation is expected to be below average.

Unfortunately, said Cormier, Environment Canada cannot predict severe storms so far in advance, adding the chance for thunder, lightning, strong winds and hail still exists into August.

"There's a number of things that come together to create a severe weather environment and those things are just not predictable in the long term," Cormier said.

Aside from the possibility of an afternoon or evening thundershower today, conditions for the province look clear through the middle of next week, he said.

Reidy, meanwhile, is asking Saskatchewan farmers who have made claims to be patient as adjusters work through their backlog of data. He is also reminding producers to check their fields for damage before making any claims with their hail insurer.

Approximately 3,450 hail claims have been filed in Alberta, while nearly 1,600 have been filed in Manitoba. The 10,500 filed in Saskatchewan is more than double that of the two other provinces combined.