Prairie hail insurers report jumps in new claims in the last two weeks in Saskatchewan and Manitoba following storms Sept. 14-15 and Sept. 10-11 respectively.
However, the new claims haven’t derailed Saskatchewan off its track for a record-low number of crop hail claims during a growing season, the Canadian Crop Hail Association said in its report Friday.
Storms on Sept. 14-15 were responsible for the majority of about 700 new claims filed by farmers in Saskatchewan since the end of August, bringing the total for the season up to about 4,000, the association said.
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Areas filing claims for Sept. 14-15 hail events include Pangman, Milestone, Lajord, Wilcox, Pense, Lumsden, Earl Grey, Loreburn, Kenaston, Conquest, Wadena, Clair, Quill Lake, LeRoy, St. Gregor, Englefeld, Bradwell, Vanscoy, Perdue, Archerwill, Rose Valley, Muenster, Humboldt, Naicam, Rosthern, Crooked River, St. Louis, Arborfield and Prince Albert.
A record-low number of claims in Saskatchewan for the 2009 growing season would follow a record-high year for the province in 2008, the association noted.
In Manitoba, meanwhile, claims are now running “just slightly below the five-year average” at a total of over 2,500, including 800 new claims since the end of August.
Most of the new claims are from storms the night of Sept. 10 into the early morning hours of Sept. 11 that hit the province’s southeast, west of the Red River, through areas including Crystal City, Snowflake, Pilot Mound, La Riviere, Darlingford, Winkler, Plum Coulee, Thornhill, Manitou, Morden, Altona and Morris.
September has been relatively quiet for hail claims so far in Alberta, the association said. Alberta farmers’ claims for the season now stand at around 1,950.
“Hail claim payouts in Alberta should return to the normal range this year, following record payouts in 2007 and again in 2008,” the association said Friday.
