WINNIPEG – A hailstorm which swept through southwestern Manitoba in late August has already cost the Manitoba Crop Insurance Corporation an estimated $3 million.
And the toll is still rising, a corporation official said last week.
Brian Halstead said the corporation’s payments to more than 1,000 farmers have so far been under its hail insurance program. More claims are expected this fall under the general insurance program, which also offers coverage for hail damage.
Halstead said although the government agency is a major player in the hail insurance business, there are several companies offering the service to farmers. The cost of the storm, which cut a swath across the region Aug. 27, may never be known.
But Halstead said it will be remembered as one of the worst. “Our initial assessment was there was a pretty big area with 100 percent damage,” he said.
Overall hail claims for the year were up nearly 11 percent over last year. The corporation received about 1,700 claims under its additional hail coverage program, which will result in payments expected to exceed $5 million.
