SGI Canada has established a farm business unit designed to improve insurance service to farmers.
Professional agrologist Blair McClinton leads the new unit, which is still staffing up with people who have agricultural knowledge to serve farm customers in the three Prairie provinces.
He said that is critical. People have become more removed from the farm and the reality is most staff won’t come from farms.
Farm customers have said they aren’t always well served by the insurance industry overall.
“We look at this as a solid business for us in Saskatchewan,” McClinton said. “It’s an important industry and we see this as an important strategic business area for us to be in.”
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Machinery specialists and journeymen mechanics who know how equipment works will be assisting adjusters.
McClinton also said staff who write policies will work alongside people in claims.
“Our staff will have deeper un-derstanding of farm and ranch business and be able to make better judgments in terms of their insurance needs,” he said.
The unit will focus on farm property and liability insurance. There is coverage for farm products, such as grain in bins that could be lost in a fire.
Liability coverage can protect policyholders from spray drift to someone falling and breaking a leg.
There is optional coverage for livestock and only for specific risks such as drowning or lightning strikes.
McClinton said in addition to training staff SGI is developing better training for brokers so they are able to meet their customers’ needs. It’s important for farmers to insure to value, so they have enough coverage if something bad happens.
“Farming has evolved over the last number of decades and we need to evolve with that,” he added. “Ten years ago nobody needed to think about how to have insurance on a drone or autonomous vehicles.”
